The Brave Huntress and the (very) Clumsy Dragon Tamer
by Ilovegoodstories8888
Summary: Hiccup is 18, and lives with Toothless in the Scottish countryside after being banished from Berk. When Queen Elinor asks him to help Merida catch a problem creature, Hiccup agrees. They unexpectedly find some full grown dragons, and it's up to Hiccup and Merida to find out why there are dragons in Scotland. But can they get over their differences and save the country? Mericcup :)
1. Chapter 1

Hiccup was pacing his bedroom. The moon was high, the stars bright, yet the 18 year old was wide awake. One hand was shoved in the pocket of his tunic, the other gripped a well read letter. A few beads of prespiration sat on his brow, but he didn't bother wiping them off. Instead he muttered the same words over and over, so many times that Toothless was beginning to wonder if he was a broken record.

The dragon was watching through one of the cottage's open windows, his enormous blue-green eyes watching Hiccup, half curious, half sympathetic.

"What do I do?" Hiccup muttered. "What do I do?"

His foot scuffed the envelope that the letter had come in. The tell-tale red seal was beginning to slide off it, but it was still there, a reminder of just who had sent that letter. Queen Elinor.

Hiccup finally stopped pacing, but only to once again read over one part of the letter.

_We would very much like your help, Hiccup, no matter what the history is between our family and your parents._

"Dad's gonna kill me, Toothless," Hiccup groaned. "He hates the Scottish Monarchy. The Vikings and them have never gotten along and-"

He paused as he remembered just what he thought of his father. His mind flashed back to a memory of his father angrily roaring at him 2 years ago, a tiny, guilty dragon scurrying away, and a smouldering house sending fumes up Hiccup's nose. He remembered yelling at his father, claiming the dragon did not mean to burn down the house, so why should it be punished?

What ensued was the biggest fight that had ever occurred between the father and son, and ended with his father banishing Hiccup and Toothless. It had been such a small problem, and ended up in Hiccup moving to Scotland.

He didn't care what his father thought, he would help Queen Elinor.

One last time, he read over the letter.

_Dear Hiccup,_

_I, Queen Elinor, and my husband the King, need your help._

_We understand that you have some very unique methods, for lack of another word, for getting things done. You and your dragon are known across the land, and our kingdom, for your unusual companionship. I have heard tales, whether true or not, of you even helping with the occasionalproblem animal, barbarian, and dragon, although I'm sure the latter was in Burk._

_Our daughter, Merida, is the most talented Huntress in perhaps all of Scotland, save you and your dragon. Her archery skills are unusually good. We are very humbly asking you to help her, and us, catch a problem being._

_We don't know what this being is. We are beginning to wonder if it is one of the dragons you are so familiar with. Several houses have been burned down, in a matter of seconds, with no tracks around. _

_All the animals from the houses were taken, and from the barns, such as sheep, horses, pigs, etc. The only thing that could have caught the houses on fire would be something from the air._

_There have also been rumours of a large, reptilian lizard in the forest, though both witnesses were to fearful and disbelieving of their own minds to tell us the size._

_We would very much like your help, Hiccup, no matter what the history is between our family and your parents._

_Your skills are much needed here._

_Sincerely, Queen Elinor._

"Toothless," Hiccup said with a determined gleam in his hazel eyes, "we're gonna go-" His foot caught on the leg of his dinner table, and he flopped to the ground. But he was so used to his clumsiness that he got up, unfazed, and finished his sentence. "-help the Scottish Monarchy."

Toothless grinned, although Hiccup couldn't tell if he was happy about the promise of an adventure, or Hiccup's fall.

Probably both, Hiccup decided.

Astrid had been Hiccup's girlfriend for 2 years. He really thought she'd come with him to Scotland, he'd thought she'd agree with him.

But she didn't.

Old jealousy flared when the tiny dragon accidentally burned down one of Berk's houses. She remembered how she'd felt when Hiccup got first in the Dragon training. Although she did not hate him for it, she found it difficult to agree with him any longer. Her feelings for him began to change the day of the argument, and although she felt terrible, she agreed with Hiccup's father.

"That dragon needs to be relocated, Hiccup." She had told him, brushing a golden strang of hair our of her eyes. "He burned down that house-"

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried out. "You're taking HIS side? But-"

Astrid sighed loudly, but she felt a pang in her chest. She asked herself what she was doing, but she had Viking in her blood. She was stubborn.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup." She whispered.

Hiccup watched her receding back as she strode briskly away, not noticing how she brushed her tears away.

That night he and Toothless left, not saying goodbye to anyone. Hiccup didn't even search his father's eyes for the remorse that he knew was not there.  
~*~

Hiccup sent a return later right away.

_Dear Queen Elinor,_

_I will do as you say. If it is in fact a dragon, I would like to help you. My methods are definitely different than yours. I'm not going to kill it, if it is a dragon, unless it really is dangerous. _

_I have, well, I have a way with dragons, and with all due respect, your daughter is going to have to listen to my instructions carefully when I arrive._

_Thank you for thinking of me, and I'll be there in about 3 days._

_Sincerely, Hiccup._

Hiccup stared at the letter. Being a Viking, he was not sure how to properly address a queen, but he figured that he did alright.

"We're going on an adventure, Toothless." He said to the dragon with his signature Hiccup grin.

And then he tripped over his own boot.

**Hi! So, I usually write Hunger Games fanfiction, but I love both Brave and HTTYD, so I thought I'd do a Merricup sort of story. Hope you like it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup had changed. No longer was he the gangly, awkward boy of two years before. He had grown both upwards and outwards, the hard work of controlling Toothless putting muscle on him, but not in the over-powering, too-much-muscle style of the adult Vikings. His eyes were the same intense hazel, his goofy grin just as, if not more, charming.

This same grin he flashed at Toothless.

"Ready to go, boy?" He asked, stepping carefully over a large stick protruding from the ground.

Toothless looked at him, amazed that he was able to dodge a potential fall. Hiccup felt the same way,

but took it smoothly. "You see, Toothless? I'm really growing into a man." He walked over to check the saddle. "No longer shall I be the clumsy, stupid boy of-!" He let out a gasp of air as his body made contact with the ground.

Toothless stared down at Hiccup's prostrate body, holding back a grin. Hiccup had tripped over a different stick.

Hiccup dragged a hand through his hair and shot Toothless a sheepish smile.

"I swear, that stick wasn't there before." He finished tying his luggage to the saddle, and then gave Toothless a good-luck pat. "We have to get there today, buddy. I'm gonna fly you hard, alright?"

When Hiccup was finally mounted, he stuck his feet in the stirrups, checking over his shoulder to make sure Toothless's tail flap was attatched.

"Here we go." He muttered.

He urged Toothless into a run, and then shoved his foot back. The tail flap responded, Toothless's wings caught the wind, and they were in the air.

Hiccup guided Toothless into a fast upwards climb, whooping with the pure exhiliration of flying. They broke through the clouds in a northern direction, and then Hiccup leaned forward, high on Toothless's neck.

"Ready?" He shouted. "Go!"

They shot forward with incredible speed, the faithful dragon beating his wings hard against the air currents. Hiccup laughed, but the sound was immediately torn away by the wind.

Hiccup knew if they continued like this, they'd make it to the kingdom in a matter of minutes.

But where's the fun in that? He asked himself. After a few moments, he shoved his feet forward, and Toothless immediately responded, grinning with glee. They fell into a nose dive, their altitude dropping incredibly fast. But Hiccup was an incredible flyer, and Toothless was an incredible dragon.

They would wait.

The clouds began to thin.

They waited.

They broke through the cloud cover, still gaining speed, the ground appearing below.

They waited.

And when the ground rose to meet them, the green of the forest trees reaching for them, Hiccup pulled back, Toothless leveled, and they were gliding at an insane speed over the forest. Hiccup laughed and glanced left and right, taking in his surroundings. He could see the castle in the distance, the sight giving Toothless more energy. Hiccup sensed it, and urged Toothless lower. The forest broke away, and then there was just flat fields. They were gliding so low that Hiccup could almost touch the soft green grass. He slowed Toothless slightly, taking in his surroundings.

And then he saw her.

At first he thought there was a fire, a mysterious, shimmery fire. But as he got closer, he realized it was hair, a thick, beautiful mound of bright, orange-red curls, streaming behind a girl. She was tall, in a blue dress, but was still dwarfed by the enormous black and white Clydesdale that she was riding.

What surprised Hiccup was their speed.

Toothless was easily faster, but the horse was still incredible, faster than any other horse Hiccup had ever seen.

He slowed down, and made Toothless rise a bit higher. They were over the pair now, and Hiccup looked down at them and waved. The girl glanced up, her eyes filling with surprise and even a little fear. But in a moment the expression was gone, and replaced by a fierceness so intense that Hiccup did a double take.

The horse surged ahead, going faster still.

Toothless got competitive, too, and tucked his wings to his side, ignoring Hiccup's frantic yells of "slow down!" They shot ahead, the girl and her horse gradually falling behind.

Hiccup couldn't help but laugh.

Merida was angry.

There had been rumours of a dragon, yes, but she dismissed them. They were figments of the imagination, dragons were, in Scotland at least. They only existed on that stupid Viking island. Bark? No, it was Berk.

But when her mother told her that a Viking would come and help her catch the dragon, she lost it.

"What do you mean?" She had yelled. "There is no dragon, therefore, we need no Viking."

Elinor had been almost as angry as she used to get before she had been turned into a bear. There was a ferocious fight, mother and daughter both letting their Scottish temper fly. Merida hated Vikings, she hated the stupid, fake stories of dragons, and she hated help. She could kill whatever the thing was by herself.

But, like most of their arguments, Elinor made herself clear.

"Well, at least tell me when this... this.." Merida cringed. "This _Viking_ is coming to live with us."

Elinor, for the first time in a while, looked nervous.

"Well, he will be arriving sometime today."

Merida felt her mouth drop open. "And you didn't tell me?"

Elinor squared her shoulders. "I believe, Merida," She said icily, "that I am your mother, and the Queen. What I say goes, and I am not going to let you and your pride get in the way of this." She turned to leave Merida's room. "If you ruin this, Merida, you will be punished. This is a chance for the Vikings and Scottish to unite, if this hunt succeeds. We cannot. Mess. This. Up."

She left gracefully, her face slightly flushed. Merida, though, was all but graceful as she flung herself onto her bed. She hated Vikings because they were barbaric. They were brawny and brainless, attacking whatever they wanted without consent from anyone.

So Merida did what she always did when her parents (more specifically her mother) made her angry.

She rode Angus.

Angus was one of the most famous horses in the land, because of his enormity, his gentleness, his speed, and his beauty. He was a beautiful black and white Clydesdale, and was faster than all of the other horses in the kingdom. He was a phenomenon, really.

Merida rushed out to the stables, grabbing her bow and arrows on the way.

"Angus!" She breathed. The beautiful horse was hers and only hers. Angus hung his head over his stall door and let out a loud, joyous whinny. A stablehand tacked him up while Merida checked her arrows and bow, and then she mounted him.

"Let's go for a good ride, Angus." She spoke into his big ear. With a slight squeeze of her legs he broke into a steady gallop, his long stride quickly carrying them through the castleyar d and into the village. Merida ignored the terrified cries of the villagers that she was almost trampling. She was being stupid, and whiny, and she knew it. But sometimes, she thought, a girl was allowed to be stupid and whiny, even if it's just for a little while.

Her and Angus flew through the woods, Merida hitting each target with her arrows, Angus tossing his head with glee. The pair flew out of the forest, and across several flat, green fields. With the wind rustling her bright red curls and the sun warming her skin,Merida felt her spirits start to lift, and she turned Angus around.

And then she heard it.

Just a slight flutter, no louder than a butterfly. But Merida still looked up, and was surprised, and a tiny bit scared, to see an enormous black shape float above her, and a boy waving at her and grinning. The Viking, she realized.

Anger surged through her, the argument with her mother flooding back to her. She could beat the stupid dragon. It was obviously going its fastest, and Angus wasn't. She crouched over the horse's thick neck and urged him into his fastest gallop, almost surprised at the sudden change in speed. Angus gracefully pulled ahead, whinnying in happiness as they started to pull away. And then she heard the same flutter, and the dragon was shooting ahead, the boy on top laughing his head off. After a few moments they had disappeared behind the castle walls, and Merida pulled Angus to a walk, trying to calm his heavy breathing.

Stupid Viking, she thought.

**Hi! I hope you like this so far, please review, favourite, and follow, and let me know what you think! All input is appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup and Toothless slowly circled over the castle, not sure what to do. They couldn't just land in the castle yard, there were people and animals in it. The kingdom surrounding the castle didn't have any room, and Hiccup couldn't land _outside_ the castle wall. How would he get Toothless though the enormous gates without causing an alarm to be sounded?

He glanced at the castle once more, when he saw a large red flag being waved back and forth by a squire. When the man saw that he had Hiccup's attention, he pointed frantically towards the castle yard. Hiccup looked and realized that the people were hastily making room, the animals being led away.

Hiccup guided Toothless into a gentle, loopy drop, the motion carrying them slowly to the space.

"Good boy, Toothless." Hiccup said with a proud smile. They landed perfectly, and Toothless gave the surrounding people an intimidating glare.

"Stop that!" Hiccup snapped. "They're gonna be scared of you." Toothless growled in response, not helping at all.

A man and woman briskly walked towards him. The woman was dressed in a flowing green dress, her shiny brown hair tied in a hairstyle that was very unlike what Hiccup was used to the Viking women wearing. The man was huge and muscular, with a red beard and open, smiling face. His form and fitness reminded Hiccup so much of his father that he couldn't help but stare.

The same squire who had signalled with the flag announced them.

"Announcing Queen Elinor, and His Highness, King Fergus!"

The people in the yard dropped to their knees. Even the horses in the stables quieted, the chickens all pausing to take in the sceen with their frazzled, confused expressions.

Hiccup gulped, and dismounted Toothless.

"Uh.." His hazel eyes flitted nervously around the castle yard. "H-Hello. I'm Hiccup."

The tension in the air thickened. Nobody greeted a King like that.

It was, after all, the custom to drop to your knee. Not doing that alone gave the King and Queen a right to order Hiccup's execution. But they were kind rulers, and gave the people a gentle, reassuring smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." King Fergus said. Hiccup immediately noticed the thick Scottish accent, the fierce determination in his eyes. "I am King Fergus."

"And I," Elinor said, stepping forward, "am Queen Elinor." Grace radiated off of her, the radiance of her eyes shining at Hiccup. He knew he would get along with the pair perfectly.

It was then that he noticed the people kneeling, and with an extremely red face he dropped to the ground, wavering slightly in the process.

"You can stand, boy!" King Fergus laughed "T'is a stupid custom, I know, and we should have it stopped.

Elinor glared up at him. "T'is a custom that should NOT be removed, Fergus. It has been in the generations throughout the-" She realized that she was arguing. With a sigh, she squared her shoulders and smiled at Hiccup. "Please, meet our sons, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris."

Three little boys appeared from behind her, all with bright red curls covering their heads, and a dusting of red freckles.

They certainly aren't shy, Hiccup though, as the little boys sprinted straight for Toothless.

"Boys!" Elinor snapped. "Stay away from that dragon."

Toothless gave Hiccup a helpless look as the triplets jumped on him. The people all held their breath, but when Toothless didn't do anything to harm the boys, they all exhaled at once.

"It's alright!' Hiccup reassured everyone. "He won't hurt-"

He was interrupted by a loud thumping. The ground vibrated slightly. Elinor glanced fearfully at Fergus.

"She's back!" She hissed. "Hiccup, don't you mind Merida, she can be a bit of a hot head, and she doesn't like you."

"What?" Hiccup yelped. "She hasn't even met me yet!"

Elinor sighed, but King Fergus spoke. "She hates Vikings."

Then the girl appeared on the huge Clydesdale, traveling so fast that a dust cloud twirled up in her wake. Se skidded to a stop right in front of Hiccup, who stumbled and fell onto his backside.

"You!" Merida snarled. She whipped out a small knife and pointed itt him, sismounting the horse at the same time. "You dirty, stupid Viking! How dare you come-"

She was interrupted by a deafening roar. Toothless leaped over Hiccup, his wings shielding the boy protectively. His face was so close to Merida, she could feel the heat radiating off of his jet black scales.

For the first time in perhaps ever, Merida looked intimidated.

King Fergus noticed her expression and elbowed Elinor. "Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea."

Elinor snorted, so out of character for her. But so was the intimidated expression on her daughter's face.

"-here." Merida finished her rant with a whisper.

Hiccup stood up and pushed Hiccup's wings aside, with difficulty.

"Toothless," He said sternly. "It's okay, she won't kill me."

"Duh," Merida mumbled. "Too many witnesses."

Hiccup felt his jaw drop, but shook it off. "Uh, Toothless meet..." He went red. "What was your name?"

"Merida." She said proudly, sheathing the knife. "My name's Merida, and don't you forget it."

"Um, okay." Hiccup smiled slightly. "Toothless, meet Merida. Merida, this is Toothless. He's my dragon."  
"I got that." She snapped. "Vikings are so stupid! Pointing out the obvious this way and that-"

She was interrupted once more by Toothless's throaty growl. Merida fell silent.

King Fergus once more elbowed Elinor. "He made her stop talking!" He whispered audibly. "In mid-rant, no less!"

Merida whipped her head around at her father, but she found that she couldn't stay mad at him. He was her father, after all, and she considered him one of her best friends. His goofy grin finally raised a slight smile to Merida's lips, and she finally let her stiff shoulders sag.

Hiccup watched this with interest. "Her father is her weak spot," He murmured softly.


	4. Chapter 4

Elinor scared Hiccup.

This said a lot, considering Hiccup grew up with an enormous, temperamental Viking father who routinely killed the village "pests", which were big, fire-breathing dragons

She was just so proper, so clean, so expectant. Even as she gave Hiccup a tour of the castle, she did everything perfectly. Her brown eyes scanned the halls, looking for any trace of dirt, grime, or garbage. The servants that they passed all looked at her with awe and respect. She was able to silence anyone with a widening of her eyes, even the dogs.

Except Merida.

Throughout the whole tour, Hiccup's mind kept straying back to her. Not in a lovey-dovey way, but in a more who-would-dare-defy-the-queen-and-live sort of way. Even though the villagers, the servants, and even the king seemed afraid of her, Hiccup was not. He knew it wasan attempt to look tough, a hard outer shell. He decided he would break it.

"And this," Elinor said with a proud smile, "is your room." She opened a heavy oak door, revealing an enormous, lavishly decorated bed room. A king-sized bed was at the far end, and on the right wall there was a huge window that showed a view of the castle yard, and the forests and meadows beyond. Against the left wall was a beautifully carved desk, with three big shelves filled with books. A thick wool rug stretched across the center of the room, and next to the desk there was a fireplace which was empy, because it was summer.

"I personally oversaw the decorating of this room," Elinor said, "and what went in it. The desk has blank writing paper and utensils, and you'll find a few blank journals to record anything you need. If you need spare blankets or anything like that, you may ask one of the servants." She walked towards the door, her green dress swirling around her slender legs. "Dinner is at 6:00 sharp. And Hiccup, dear, don't worry about Merida." The kind woman but her lip. "She's a bit feisty, but hopefully it's just a phase."

Hiccup smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you for everything. The room will do fine, and I think I can handle Merida. I'm used to dealing with feisty girls anyways." His eyes suddenly went sad, and he turned away, memories of Astrid and her betrayal plagueing him. "I will see you at dinner, Madame."

Elinor immediately sensed his conflicting emotions, and she smiled gently at him. "You may call me Elinor, Hiccup."

And with a swish of her dress she was gone, leaving Hiccup at a loss of what to do. The room was almost too enormous for him. He could get lost in it, and with his luck and clumsiness, he would.

He tried to entertain himself in various ways. But his brain wasn't coming up with invention ideas, and his eyes kept straying to the window, where he could see the forest, and the hills. Finally, he decided that he may as well pay Toothless a visit, and see where his faithful dragon was being stabled.

After taking three wrong turns and getting hopelessly lost twice, Hiccup found his way into the castle yard. It was a busy place, but people still found the time to stare at him as he walked by. He shot them all a friendly grin and kept on walking, but he could stil feel their eyes on his back. It creeped him out.  
The scottish accents still confused him slightly, but he found it pleasing in a way. So much different than the harsh dialect of the Vikings. He found that the men weren't so overly muscled and tough, and actually smiled once in a wile. In other words, he felt that he belonged.

Hiccup was just wondering who to ask where Toothless was when one of the triplets ran up to him, stepped right into his path, and stared at him wordlessly.

"Uh... Hello." Hiccup said awkwardly. The little boy stared at him still, his freckled face open and friendly, but his mouth still closed.

"Hamish!" A girl's voice snapped. "I told you not to stare at peo-" Her voice cut off when she saw who the boy was staring at.

"Hi Merida." Hiccup greeted her politely. "I was just looking for Toothless. Where are they-"

"Shut it." She snarled. "Hamish, you get back into the house. And stop staring, for goodness' sake. It's creepy, and people don't like it." She slapped a bright red curl out of her eye, and for a moment Hiccup was entranced by the way the sun lit it up...

"Ahem!" Merida was staring at him, her hands resting expectantly on her hips. "You asked me a question?"

"Right." He shook the thoughts away. "Where is-"

"In the horse barn behind the castle." She sighed. "Geez. Angus doesn't even get to stay there. Why is the stupid dragon allowed?"

Hiccup clenched his jaw. He didn't like it when people insulted Toothless, which is understandable.

"Maybe," he said, "it's because Toothless is valuable, extremely rare, my best friend, and the key to us finding the other dragon that's been burning down houses around here."

Her eyes glinted angrily. "He is not valuable, he's a giant lizard!" She tossed her mane of curls indignantly. "And as for him being the key to finding this dragon, it's impossible. There is no such thing as a Scottish dragon, and there never will-"

"DRAGON!" A man screamed, running in through the caslte gates. "A dragon has set my house on fire! Help, please!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrow at Merida. "You sure about that?"

Elinor sat at the head of the huge table, Fergus at the other. Hiccup and Astrid were each on a side, waiting for their instructions.

"This time, Merida, we have proof of a dragon." Elinor said. "That villager caught it red handed. Luckily everyone made it out of the house unharmed, but.." She shuddered. "Who knows what'll happen next time."

"Yes, mother." Merida mumbled. She wouldn't meet Hiccup's eye, afraid of an I-told-you-so smirk. She didn't realize how mature Hiccup really was, and how the chances of such a smirk existing on Hiccup were low. "But how are we going to catch a dragon with such a clumsy dragon tamer? He fell twice on the way to this room, once on an invisible line!" She rolled her eyes and turned to Hiccup. "If you screw this up, I swear that I will kill you."

"If Toothless doesn't kill you first, you mean." Hiccup said calmly. Merida stared at him a moment, and then stood up rapidly, knocking over her chair in the process.

"I'm going to go saddle up Angus," She announced, "and you can do whatever you need to do with... Your dragon. I'll meet you at the front gates." And then she was gone, her bright red hair streaming behind her.

"Finally," Fergus said with a relieved sigh, "someone can stand up to her who isn't a monarch."

Hiccup gave them a crooked grin, and then excused himself to saddle up Toothless. He only got lost once, but tripped twice.

"Why am I such a klutz? He asked himself as he led Toothless to the castle gates.

Merida watched him approach. His steps were well-placed and confident, his hands calm and steady. He hopped gracefully onto Toothless's back, despite the fact that he was missing a leg and was instead using a metal contraption.

_How can someone be so clumsy, yet so graceful?_ She asked herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Hiccup was safely on Toothless. He glanced at Merida, who was hopping nimbly onto Angus.

"How did you do that?" She asked him.

"Do what?"

"Lead your dragon over here and get on him."

Hiccup stared at her, still not getting it. "I grabbed the rope, and started walki-"

"No!" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You've tripped countless times since you arrived just a few hours ago, yet you could handle that enormous reptile with the ease of, well..." She thought for a moment. "Of me with Angus."

Hiccup shrugged. "Astrid said the same thing, too."

After a second he seemed to realize what he said, and clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Who's Astrid?" Merida asked, her eyes, for the first time since Hiccup had met her, sparkling. "A lass back home, perhaps?"

"She's..." Hiccup sighed. "She's nobody." He faced forward. "Toothless, up." At Hiccup's signals, the dragon spread his huge wings, clipping Merida on the shoulder in the process, and used them to catch the wind. They rose slowly and gently, gaining altitude little by little.

"What direction?" Merida shouted up. "He needs to catch the scent!"

"We'll meet you where the house burned down!" Hiccup shouted back.

It wasn't hard to find, either. There were tall columns of black smoke rising from the smouldering ashes, on the far side of the kingdom. He was careful to stay right above Merida, so that she stayed in there sights for the whole time. She was 200 feet below and he could still see her mane of curls, like a beacon on a cliffside. She and Angus wound carefully through the kingdom streets, being very wary of the villagers this time, rather than trampling them. When they finally reached the site of the fire, Hiccup instantly tensed up.

"What do you smell, Toothless?" Hiccup asked him. They flew down to where Merida and Angus were just skidding to a stop.

"Anything?" Merida asked as she jumped off Angus. The horse dipped his head at Hiccup respectively, but glared at Toothless.

_Even her horse hates Toothless,_ Hiccup thought. Aloud, he said, "Yeah. He tensed up." He turned to

Toothless. "Go, boy. Tell me if you smell anything."

The dragon sunk low to the ground, his blue-green eyes narrowing slightly. Tucking his wings tight against his back, he stepped closer to the smouldering heap of ash.

"Does he smell anything?" Merida asked quietly. Hiccup nodded. "How do you know?"

"Don't you see?" Hiccup asked. "His nostrils, they're flaring. And see the muscles in his back legs? When they tense up like that it means he's ready for an attack from a..." He went pale.

"A what?" Merida asked in frustration. "Just spit it out!"

"A predator." Hiccup whispered.

"But what could possibly be bigger, and stronger, than Toothless?" Merida asked. "I thought you said that he was the most powerful dragon of all. There can't be a predator preying on him."

Hiccup shrugged and drew in a shaky breath. "I'm probably just overthinking his body language. It's probably nothing."

Merida nodded along with him, but she knew he wasn't convinced. Whatever had burned down the houses was big. "Let's asked the farmer how big it was." She suggested. "Maybe that'll help."

"Weren't you listening?" Hiccup asked in frustration. Merida shook her head sheepishly. She often lost concentration when imagining the adventures her and Angus could ave someday. "The farmer didn't even see it. He just saw a cloud of fire erupt from nowhere. I think this... this _thing _is invisible."

Merida stared at him. "That's impossible. There were reports of a large scaley thing in the forest. If it was invisible, nobody could have-"

"It's only invisible when it wants!" Hiccup exploded. "How are you not getting this? There is a big, dangerous dragon on the loose, and it just so happens that it can turn invisible. We are so screwed."

He stepped over to Toothless and stumbled on a rock. Merida snorted.

"We need to look for it." Hiccup decided, wisely ignoring her snort. Even though he could not dodge things that would cause him physical harm, it seemed he was able to dodge potential arguments perfectly. "But you can't ride Angus, the dragon will sense you coming through ground vibrations. You'll have to fly with me."

"No way." Merida snapped. "I will not get on that gigantic lizard. Angus'll do fine."

She mounted the horse and turned him around. "I'll meet you back at the castle," she said stubbornly, "and you'd better hurry. We need to report our findings."

"Hurry?" Hiccup scoffed at her receding back. "I can easily beat you." He winced as he heard her let out a frustrated shout, and then jumped onto Toothless and let him go as fast as he wanted. They cut through the air at break neck speed, the wind so cold and strong that it brought tear's to Hiccup's eyes. As expected, he did beat Merida, and waited smugly for her aat the entrance to the castle.

_Why am I being smug?_ He asked himself. _I was never like this before._ _This girl is bringing out the worst in me._

After 5 minutes she finally appeared. Angus snorted and galloped towards the stables as soon as Merida was off of his back.

Hiccup stretched and blinked at her as if he had been asleep for a long time. "I'm growing old." He complained dramatically. "Please, check if there are grey hairs growing on my chin!"

"I didn't take that long!" She snapped. "Besides, scrawny viking, you'd be lucky to get any hairs on your chin, let alone grey ones!"

And with that she left him, and he had to hurry to keep up.

"Uh..." He searched for something to say. "Did I offend you?"

He mentally slapped himself. That was the last thing that would comfort her.

"No." She sighed. "I'm just angry, that's all. And I don't even know why." Her face softened and she looked at him for a second, his hazel eyes and happy grin.

And then Hiccup ruined the moment.

"PMS?" Merida's jaw dropped open and she turned to face him. His face was growing slightly red, but he remained serious. "I'm not even joking, Merida. If-"

"You idiot!" She yelled. "You never, ever, EVER say that to a girl! Clearly, you have no experience with them, you small-brained lizard rider!"

"And clearly," He roared, "you have no experience with boys! Don't you know that it's weird to be manlier than a boy?"

"Don't you know that's sexist?"

"Don't you know that calling me a lizard rider doesn't hurt my feelings?"

Merida glared at him for a moment, and then stalked away. "Meet me out front tomorrow morning." She called over her shoulder coldly. "I'll go with you and Toothless. But I swear, if I get hurt, I will kill you and use your skin as a saddle."

She walked briskly away, bristling.

"Did I actually just win that?" Hiccup asked himself.

**Hey :) Please leave a review, favourite, and follow!**


	6. Chapter 6

Merida woke up the next morning nervous. Her stomach knotted as she slipped into a green dress, and butterflies fluttered around when she stepped into a pair of leather hiking boots and headed down the hall to the kitchen. Dinner the night before had been boring; Hiccup had retired to his room with no food claiming he was extremely tired, and Merida had barely eaten a thing because she was so angry.

But now, the dining room was full and cheerful. The triplets were all sitting on one side, babbling to each other and laughing, her parents each sat at one end, smiling at each other and talking to...

Hiccup.

He sat opposite the triplets, grinning and talking away as if he belonged there. He froze slightly when Merida entered the room, but resumed his conversation after giving her a polite nod. Merida sat coldly next to him, and accepted a plate from a servant wordlessly.

"Good mornin', Merida." Fergus said with a smile. Merida glanced at him and smiled, but kept on shoveling eggs into her mouth.

"Merida!" Elinor scolded. "Do you really think that's lady-like?"

"Nope." Merida replied nonchalantly.

Hiccup pushed his plate away, and a servant carried it away. "You ready to fly, Merida?"

"Don't even talk about it!" She snapped.

Hiccup sighed. "I've been here less than 24 hours," he said, "and you are already one of the most-"

"-Beautiful people you've ever met." Merida finished for him with a smirk. Hiccup nodded.

"Yes, and annoying."

Merida didn't know what to say. He called her beautiful. He also called her annoying. Instead, she shot

him a glare and took a swig of water.

"Wait a minute." Elinor interjected. "Flying? Merida, are you flying?"

"Yes, mum!" Merida rolled her eyes. "It's the best way to find the dragon. We'll need my archery skills in case we do find it, and Hiccup can fly Toothl- his lizard."

Elnor set her fork down and gazed at Merida with her pretty brown eyes. "Well, be careful."

"We will." Hiccup assured her. He shot her a lopsided grin, a grin that caused all the female servants (and maybe a few male ones) to swoon. But Elinor just gave him a calm smile and shot a look at her servants.

"Good."  
_

A few minutes later, Hiccup was waiting for Merida at the castle gates. She approached carefully, eyeing Toothless suspiciously.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked Hiccup. He nodded and leaned on his fake leg. She seemed to notice it for the first time. "Erm... What happened there?"

Hiccup sighed. "It's a long story, quit stalling." He carefully mounted Toothless and held a hand out to Merida, who completely ignored the gentlemanly gesture and leaped on. When Toothless felt the weight of the girl who called him a lizard on his back, he was not happy. He began to pace in front of the castle yard gates, his tail lashing back and forth.

"Toothles!" Hiccup hissed. "You're not helping the situation."

He urged Toothless into a lope, shoved his feet back in the stirrups, and let Toothless's wings catch the air. They flew vertically a hundred feet, Merida gripping Hiccup so tightly he could barely breathe.

"Just-hold-on!" He gasped. "I mean, wait until we get above the clouds... You'll see."

A flash of deja-vu plagued him. He remembered Astrid, how she'd been wary of Toothless and he took her up into the clouds. She'd fallen in love with him. Hopefully that wouldn't happen here.

Merida squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way she was going to look down. She didn't trust the dragon. She just knew that with one flick of his tail he could whip her off his back and send her plummeting to the ground below.

But Toothless wouldn't do that.

He levelled off gently as they broke through the cloud cover. It was freezing, of course, but Merida found that burying her head into Hiccup's warm fur vest heated her up slightly. She finally had the sense to look around, and when she did, she gasped.

The couds were beautiful, all piled on top of each other like the fluffy mashed potatoes Cook made so well. They were a creamy white, far larger than any mountain, and surrounded the threesome.

Toothless let out a joyous roar, and Hiccup laughed. Even Merida let a small smile appear, and she gave Toothless a hesitant pat. He turned his head and grinned at her.

"This... Maybe this isn't so bad." Merida said with a breathless laugh. She let go of Hiccup and let herself relax. It was beautiful.

"So." Hiccup said. "We're gonna get fast, here. Hold on tight."

She obeyed, once again burying her head into his vest. Hiccup guided Toothless into a nosedive, and they spiraled to the ground below, once again levelling off at the last second and flying low over the tried to regain her composure from the terrifying drop, frantically smoothing down her curls.

When they reached the burn sight, Hiccup let Toothless choose where to go, or wherever the scent of the myssterious dragon led. Toothless veered them off to a southerly direction, towards the woods.

"I know these woods like the back of my hand!" Merida called up to Hiccup. It was difficult for him to hear as they were going against the air currents now, but he nodded and urged Toothless to go faster.

Above the heart of the huge forest, Toothless let out a growl. Hiccup circled him over the spot that Toothless was glaring at, and glanced at Merida over his shoulder, nodding slightly.

She got her bow out and strung and arrow, ready to shoot at anything that threathened them.

"Now remember," Hiccup said, "You do not kill it unless I say. For now, we observe. If we do see it, you may shoot at a limb, preferably a front leg or one of the wings." He turned around and stared at her right in the eyes. " .Kill."

Merida rolled her eyes. "Aye, I got you. Just hurry up and lure the thing out."

Hiccup leaned down close to Toothless. "You know what to do."

Toothless opened his mouth and shot one of his infamous blue-green balls of energy into the forest, the sound waves so strong that they bounced off the trees and almost knocked Merida off the dragon.

She was saved by Hiccup, who grabbed the hem of her dress and yanked her up.

"Thanks!" She gasped.

After a few seconds, something happened.

The dragon was enormous. Not as big as the one that had taken Hiccup's leg, but still big. The bright blue eyes contrasted deeply with its purple scales, and the sun glinted off of them as it flew vertically out of the forest, three times as big as Toothless. Its powerful wings cast a strong wind across the trees, sending birds into terrified twirls of flight.

"Shoot!" Hiccup bellowed. Merida took aim and let the arrow go. It hit its mark perfectly, embedding itself in one of the wings. She whot 6 more times, finally bringing the beast down. They heard it land, and they heard its bellows of rage.

Merida stared down, her body shaking with adrenaline. "What now?"

Hiccup looked grim. "I have no idea."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone. For some reason a bunch of my sentences were deleted half way through on the last chapter. Sorry about that!**

Merida looked at Hiccup fearfully, gripping him just a little bit tighter.

"What do you mean you _don't know?_" She demanded. "You're Hiccup the Dragon Tamer, the boy who can make friends with any beast. You've changed the Vikings' opinion on dragons, the same Vikings who are known for their stubborness! How can you not know what to do?"

Hiccup whipped his head around and glared at her. "This is a breed I've never even heard of! I have no idea what to do. I guess we should just... Go down there. Carefully."

Merida sighed audibly, and as Toothless slowly flew to the ground, she leaped off of his back and jumped onto a near by already had an arrow strung. As Hiccup and Toothless flew by, she said, "I've got you covered. Try to... Do what you do. If you need me to shoot it, just give me the signal."

Hiccup admired her skill and determination. He knew that he would never be able to win her affections, hell, he wasn't even sure if he had feelings for her. But whatever was going on in his heart, he knew one thing.

She truly was beautiful

Hiccup snapped out of his trance and jumped into a nearby tree, as Merida had done, because the tree cover was too thick for both the dragon and the boy to get through. However, instead of Merida's cat-like landing, he missed the branch and tumbled to the forest floor.

"Hiccup!" Merida shrieked. "Are-Are you alright?"

The boy shakily lifted an arm and gave her a thumbs up and then got to his feet, groaning. Toothless fluttered down beside him, positioned around the boy in a protective manner.

And together, they faced the dragon.

Its scales, which had at first seemed purple, were not. They were a deep orange, mixed with glints of blue and red. The eyes were an eerie electric blue. They looked at Hiccup very coldly indeed.

"Uh, h-hey there, dragon," Hiccup stuttered, "I'm not trying to hurt you." He stepped closer and held out a handful of grass. From past experience, he knew that dragons from Berk loved the grass. But by the way the dragon glared at the grass blades, it was apparent this dragon was different.

_'What could you possibly want, boy?'_

Hiccup started. "What? Did you just... Talk?"

_'Not talk. I am simply thing, in your mind, stupid human.'_

"I-I-I don't think you're from Berk." Hiccup whispered. He glanced up at Merida, who, from her perch on the tree, stared at him in confusion.

"Who're you talkin' to?" She asked, her blue eyes puzzled.

"Can't you-"

_'Don't even try it, human. You're the only one who can hear us. You have a gift. An exceptionally stupid one.'_

Hiccup stared at the dragon, and its blue eyes. Although its words weren't mean, its tone was evil, and so was the look it was giving him. "Where are you from?"

_'Not your puny little island, or that tiny cave you call a dragons' nest.' _The dragon stretched its neck proudly. _'We are Scottish dragons.'_

"A Scottish dragon? How long have you been around?"Hiccup was no expert, but he knew enough of the Scot's history to know that there were no dragons.

_'Hundreds of years. We have been hiding, in caves, in hollows underground. We are going to conquer this country, which is rightfull ours, and we will destroy anyone who tries to stop us. But fall these years, we've been waiting to make our moved. Waiting oh so long.' _

"For what?" Hiccup asked, puzzled.

_'You.'_

The dragon grinned at him evilly.

_'You are the only one who is a threat to us. And now we can kill you. But not yet, no, we will wait until He says.'_

The dragon snapped its head around and plucked the arrows out of its wings with its mouth, and looked once more at Hiccup.

'_You are a stupid human, Hiccup. We will not be stopped.'_

It, no, _he_ flew away, his wings beating so hard that the wind almost bowled Hiccup over.  
it took Hiccup a moment to realize that it had said 'we' and 'us'.

"There... There're more." He whispered. He glanced at Toothless. "They're going to kill the Scots, anyone. But first, me. When... When He says. Who's He?"

Merida dropped to the ground and clamped her hands on Hiccup's shoulders. She stared into his eyes, searching them for something.

"What were you jabberin' about?" She demanded. "How were you talking to that... That thing?"

Hiccup stared at her, her blue eyes, her fiery hair. "I don't know, Merida. I have no idea. It, no he was just thinking to me. In my mind. He said I'm the only one that can do it."

Merida sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Really," Hiccup laughed. "I seriously doubt that."

"I'm serious!" Merida said indignantly. "I was... Worried. And I have a question for you."

Hiccup looked at her for a moment. "What?"

She suddenly turned shy, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. "You called me beautiful before."

Hiccup laughed and jumped on Toothless, offering her his hand. "And?"

She took his hand this time and jumped behind him. "Well, what did you mean by that?"

"I meant what I said." Hiccup said casually. "You're beautiful."

Toothless roared, and they flew straight up, whipping any words from Merida's mouth. But she was speechless, and instead held onto Hiccup tighter and tried to hide blushing face.  
_

"You mean to tell me," Elinor said, trying to slow her breathing, "that there is a... A family of dragons planning on taking over this country and killing everyone in it."

Hiccup gulped. "Yes."

"And they just started to show themselves because you came."

"Yes."

"Because you have a gift that allows you to communicate with them telepathically."

"Well," Hiccup said, "I can't think to them, but they can think to me."

"And to only you."

"Yes."

Merida watched the exchange nervously. Her mother wasn't very happy. They had only discovered the dragon and his intentions yesterday, but it was already taking its toll on her mother. She was pale and trembling.

Elinor took a deep breath. "How do we kill it?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, I hate to kill them, but I guess these ones have to be. And I have no idea. To me, this is a new breed of dragon. I need to find their kill spot, before they find mine. It'll be hard because they're, well, able to turn invisible. But," He looked out the window at Toothless. "I have Toothless."

Fergus finally spoke up. "Hiccup, just tell us this. Do you believe you can kill it?"

Hiccup squared his shoulders. "Yes."

Fergus nodded. "I hope so. I don't want to have to evacuate the country, after all. It would take too long, anyways."

Merida stood up hurriedly. "That's it! Start evacuating. It will take weeks, I know, but we should try to get the weakest out. We'll need volunteers to help us fight, though. And none of our people have experience with dragons."

Hiccup sighed shakily. "I think I can help with that."

Elinor looked at him. "What?"

"I know just the people." Hiccup said. "And they have helped me kill the biggest dragon of them all."

**Hopefully there are no half finished sentences in this one...**

**So what do you think? Are Hiccup's friends coming to Scotland?**

**Is Astrid?**

**Leave a review, let me know what you think, any input, any ideas. I'm open to everything :)**

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	8. Chapter 8

Merida felt troubled. She paced the castle halls, eyes running over the portraits of her ancestors, and yet she wasn't really looking at them. She was troubled because she was unsure.

Merida was a Scottish princess. She was always sure of who she was, what she wanted, and how she'd do it. She was sure about everything she faced in her life so far, like when her mother tried to find suitors for her, or when the dress-maker came.

And then there was Hiccup.

This Viking boy, the boy she at first hated, was casting her mind into such turmoil that she hardly knew what to think. He was going on his fourth night with her family, yet already he had changed Merida in a way she didn't understand.

It started when he had called her beautiful at the breakfast table that one day. No, probably before that, but that was when she first felt _something_.

Merida was not a girl who fell in love with the first boy to call her beautiful. Quite a few had come and professed their love to her, even one of the stable boys. But Hiccup was different. His feelings to her were vague. One minute he was calling her beautiful, the other he was tormenting her.

Or was _she_ tormenting _him_?

Before she knew it, she had appeared at his door.

She raised a hand to knock, lowered it, and then raised it again. However, before she had a chance to touch it, it flew open, and there was Hiccup. His hazel eyes, which looked greener to her everyday, stared at her.

"Uh, hello," She stuttered.

"Hi," Hiccup said, raising an eyebrow slightly, as if asking, 'why are you here?'

"So, how's things?" Merida mentally slapped herself. What was she thinking?

"Good."

An awkward silence stretched out between them. Merida frantically searched her mind for something else to say, something that made sense.

"I just wanted to ask what the plan is. For instance, you want to bring your dragon-fighting friends over here from Berk?"

He glanced down the hall, perhaps looking for prying eyes, and then opened the door, a wordless invitation for her to come in. She gulped, realizing she was in a boy's room, with said boy, alone.

"You're right, I am thinking of doing that," Hiccup confirmed, once they were safely in his room. He sat down on his bed and leaned back on his elbows casually. "But not for a little while. I think, for now, that we should scope out the dragosn a little more, find out if there's anything we missed." He got up and walked over to his desk and held out one of the blank journals, then flipped open to a page, where there was a drawing of the dragon.

Merida smiled. "You can draw, too? You're a man of many talents, I see."

Hiccup looked at her, right in the eyes. "You've changed. Towards me, I mean."

Merida felt herself growing red under his analyzing gaze. "Well, uh, I feel like I've eh, gotten to know you better now, right? Being in the air with you and Toothless, well," She smiled. "It can change a woman, you know."

Hiccup laughed. "I guess so. You're not the first girl it's changed." He abruptly changed the subject, his face going slightly red. "Any ideas for a name for this dragon?"

Merida was so caught up in wondering what other girl there was that she barely heard his question.

"Huh? Oh, The..." Her face suddenly lit up, making her look so pretty that Hiccup had to smile a little. "The Bagpipe Terror!"

Hiccup full out laughed this time. "It's perfect." He walked back to his desk, stumbling slightly, and set the journal down. "I'll add it when the drawing's done."

"Alright." Merida glanced around the room, her gaze resting on the window, which was darkened by the night. "I better get back to my room, now."

Hiccup nodded and rubbed absently at his bad leg.

"Who's Astrid?" Merida blurted out. She instantly clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing that the question could hurt Hiccup. But he just sighed and again sat down on his bed, slumping his shoulders.  
"She was a girl back in Berk. Bad-ass, beautiful Viking type." He didn't look wistful, or dreamy, just expressionless. "Used to hate me because I was this awkward, skinny, clumsy kid who couldn't seem to do anything right. Anyways, Toothless and I became friends, I took Astrid up with us for a ride, then ended up saving Berk and all the Vikings and dragons." He shrugged. "We got together."

Merida was still at the door. "And?"

"And she took my dad's side, chose his opinion over mine, let me leave Berk without a second glance."

Hiccup's eyes suddenly grew angry. He stood up and started pacing the room, his fingers clenched into fists. "And now, she might come here. I don't know how this is going to work."

Merida watched him pacing. "She doesn't have to come."

"But she does!" Hiccup raised his voice slightly. "Don't you see? She's the best out of all of us. Period. She has to come."

Merida walked over to him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Hiccup sighed and leaned against the wall, resting his face in his hands. "It just isn't easy."

Merida stepped closer and set both hands on his shoulders, and then awkwardly slid them so that they were eneveloping him in a soft hug. "Don't worry, Hiccup," She said. "You need to ignore them. They were holding you back from doing amazing things. But now you can change your fate, even if you're going to get hurt along the way."

She suddenly realized their close proximity and stepped back. But Hiccup noticed the spark gleaming in her eyes, the smile on her lips. She wasn't stubborn, he realized. She was just a very determined young woman.

"Okay," he said, trying not to stutter at the powerful effect of her words. "Well, we'll go look for this thing tomorrow morning, bright and early. I'll see if I can find out who the dragon's leader is, stuff like that."

"Sure," Merida smiled. "I'll see you at the gates."

And with that she left the room, her blue dress trailing behind her.

Hiccup smiled, his mood much, much happier than it had been before Merida came to his room.

Hiccup guided Toothless upwards, feeling Merida wrap her arms around him tighter.

"Has he caught the scent?" Merida asked. Hiccup nodded and let Toothless choose the direction. Soon, they were once again over the forest, a little farther in than the day before. Toothless glided slowly over the treetops, and then swirled into a landing in a clearing. Merida and Hiccup jumped off him, Merida giving him a tiny pat on the way down. She had begun to like the enormous reptile.

Toothless focused on one direction, and Hiccup knew this was his way of telling which way to go.

"Thanks, bud," he told Toothless. Him and Merida ran ahead, leaving Toothless behind. Toothless was too big to navigate through the trees, and would be safer in the clearing.

"Think we're close?" Merida huffed after a few minutes. Hiccup was about to answer, when a knife-like pain cut through his head. He fell to his knees and clutched at his scalp, letting out a gasp.

_'So, you're back.'_

Hiccup looked around, glaring at the trees around him. "Where are you?" He shouted. "And what are you doing to my head?"

Merida drew her bow, stringing an arrow quickly and quietly.

_'Telepathic communication is not easy on your puny human brain,'_ The voice hissed. _'Oh, I wish I could kill you.'_

"Then why don't you?" Hiccup challenged. "What's holding you back?" He began to get angry at the stupid dragon.

_'We have to wait, idiot. I have told you.'_

"Yeah, but for what?" Hiccup asked angrily.

_'For Him, our leader, the dragon who has taught us so well, who has come up with this wondrous plan. He is the greatest, the biggest, the smartest, the-'_

"Shut up." Hiccup unsheathed his sword. "Why wait?"

_'He is not yet healed, human. Long ago, he was injured badly. Your kind always manages to mess something up, even the most powerful dragon, the biggest dragon, the smartest-'_

"I _get _it!" Hiccup sighed and sheathed his sword. "Why shouldn't I kill you right now?"

_'Do you really think you could?_' The dragon was laughing now, sending new waves of pain through Hiccup's head. _'Could you kill me? Or my sisters? My brothers? We are invisible, not conquerable.'_

Hiccup felt a breeze behind him, and he realized it was the dragon moving behind him.

"Even if I did hurt you, you wouldn't be able to hurt me back," Hiccup smiled. "You're not allowed." He stabbed his sword where his instincts told him. There was a roar, and the dragon was revealed. Hiccup had stabbed his foot.

_'You're right,' he said, 'I cannot hurt you. But we can hurt your... Lizard.'_

Almost instantly, there was a roar of pain in the distance.

_'Just be luck we didn't hurt the girl.'_

And then the dragon disappeared, spitting the sword out and leaving a pool of golden blood on the ground.

Hiccup turned to Merida, his face paling.

"H-Hiccup?" Merida asked, her eyes big. "What'd the dragon say? What was taht sound" Tears began to spring to her eyes, because she _knew_ that the soundwas Toothless. She knew that it was a cry of pain.

"Toothless."

**Hi :) Sorry I took a little while to update. Had writer's block. Ew.**

**Review, fav, follow! Let me know what you think.**

**Is Toothless dead?**


	9. Chapter 9

Hiccup couldn't seem to run fast enough. He heard Merida crying out to him, but he didn't listen. He had to get to his dragon, his friend. Branches whipped at his face, but he never once tripped over a root, or stumbled on a log. When it came to Toothless, he was the King of Grace.

He broke through the trees, into the clearing where he had left Toothless. But there was nothing there, nothing but the blood.

There wasn't much, just a large puddle soaking into the grass, a crimson carpet. Hiccup collapsed to his knees, letting his head fall into his hands. The pain from talking with the dragon was slicing back.

And then the dragon laughed in Hiccup's mind. Just that. No words, no threats, just laughter.

Merida stumbled through the line of trees, her face hopeful. But when her eyes fell on Hiccup in a despaired heap on the ground, she leaned against a tree in shock.

"No," She whispered. "He-He can't be... It isn't..." Hiccup didn't say anything. "But how would they move him?" Merida asked. "How would they get him from here to... Wherever they are?"

Hiccup was still silent.

Merida shut her mouth, but there was one question in her mind.

Is Toothless dead?

It was a long trek back to the castle. They had to walk a long way to cover the distance that Toothless had covered in so little time in the air. Hiccup was silent the whole time, tring not to let his tears show. Merida didn't even bother. She let them roll down her cheeks, but they weren't completely of sadness.

They were angry.

Anyone who knew Merida knew that when she was angry, she was _angry_. Her temper was as hot as her hair was red. The whole way back she cried and cried, but inside her heart was raging.

She wanted to kill the dragons with all of her mind.

They finally reached a hill that over looked the kingdom. Hiccup flopped to the ground and pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," He whispered. Merida didn't know what to say. She didn't realize that Hiccup could be anything but cheerful and optimistic and clumsy. She decided to sit down next to him, and then started fiddling with the grass.

"I think we should call your friends," She said quietly. "We _need_ them. I mean, you don't have Toothless..." Her voice trailed off.

"We can't do a thing without him," Hiccup said dejectedly. "He knew the scent, he knew where I needed to go. He knew everything."

Merida nodded and sighed. "I... Without Toothless, Hiccup, everything is lost. We can't do it without him."

Hiccup turned away from her, but not fast enough. She caught sight of a tear falling off his cheek.

Empathy, something she had never really felt before, swelled in her heart, and she slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him tight against her. He leaned his head against her shoulder, breathing in her scent, which smelled like earth and flowers and horses.

After a few minutes, Hiccup stood up. "We should get back," he said quietly. Merida nodded and then had an idea. She stood up next to him, put two fingers in her mouth, and let out a shrill whistle. Hiccup was confused at first, but then saw something. He hadn't noticed Angus grazing in a meadow at the foot of the hill, which was quite far away. The enormous horse lifted his head, saw his owner's hair, and galloped over. They waited for him to reach them, and Merida grabbed Hiccup's hand, her face reddening slightly. She just wanted to comfort him, but she knew that the gesture might seem romantic.

Hiccup didn't seem to mind.

They mounted Angus, trotted slowly into the kingdom, and then through the castle gates, all the while being completely silent. Hiccup wrapped his hands around Merida's waist, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't, but his face was still sad. Maybe it was Merida's look of anger, maybe it was Hiccup's sad face, but the villagers seemed to realize that something was wrong, and quickly let them through. As soon as they were in the castle yard, Hiccup and Merida jumped off of Angus, and the horse galloped away to the stables. Merida glanced at Hiccup as they hurried to the throne room.

All was lost, she knew, without Toothless.

Elinor was sitting on her throne, reading, and Fergus was standing in the middle of the big room, talking to several bearded officials. When he saw the pair, though, he waved everyone away and hurried over to them, immediately noticing their grim expressions. Elinor seemed to know that something was up, too, because she set her book down (very primly) and hurried over.

"What is it?" Fergus asked, searching their faces. "What happened, Merida? Somethin' wrong?"

Merida nodded. "It's... Toothless. The dragons got him." Hiccup stiffened, and she once again grabbed his hand. Elinor noticed this exchange, but she let it go. This was not the time to talk to Merida about boys and suitors.

"What do you mean, 'got' him? Is he alive?"

Hiccup sighed. "We don't know. We just found his-his blood." His voice faltered but he kept on going. "The dragon was speaking to me, and he said I was lucky he didn't hurt Merida."

Fergus satarted pacing, his face paling. "And you think that he may've hurt Toothless."

"Killed," Hiccup corrected, his voice quiet.

"There's a chance that your dragon is alive..." Elinor's voice trailed off. She knew there was virtually no chance that Toothless was alive. She had heard how big the Bagpipe Terrors were, she knew they had incredible powers.

They continued talking for a while, but Hiccup quickly excused himself. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to be alone. He walked through the halls, looking at the portraits and trying to dodge any human interaction. He was afraid that if he talked to someone he would either punch them or burst into tears.

Both would be embarrassing.

He finally found himself climbing the spiral staircase leading to the top turret of the castle. He could get a view there, he knew, and thought that it would maybe calm him down.

He was right, it did. He felt the breeze on his face, the wind through his clothes and hair. It was almost like flying on his Toothless, except he didn't have the warm body beneath him, or the powerful wings on either side of him. He began to shiver, and was wondering if he should go back down when Merida showed up.

He didn't notice her at first. It was only until she spoke that he realized she was standing behind him.

"What should we do?" She asked quietly. He just shook his head and turned to face her.

"Honestly, I have no idea. We have no leads, no scent, and no... No Toothless." He stared at his boots, but then felt a pair of hands on his chin. Merida lifted his chin and looked at him fiercly, her blue eyes determined.

"You listen to me," She said. "We can't give up, got it? We just can't. We need to fight for... Oh my God."

Hiccup looked at her oddly. "What?"

She just stared behind him, and he turned towards the view once again.

Except this time it was different.

A large black shape was making its way out of the forest, way across the kingdom. Hiccup squinted, and then realized what he was saying.

"Toothless!" He yelled. He and Merida rushed down the steps of the turret, through the castle, and into the stable yard. They hopped on Angus and flew through the streets, the villagers cheering. They knew that something had gone right, as Merida was laughing and Hiccup had a huge grin on his face.

They made it to Toothless, who glanced up at Hiccup and then screeched in happiness. Hiccup jumped off Angus and ran to his dragon, feeling tears coming to his eyes as he threw his arms around Toothless's neck.

"We thought you were dead!" He shouted. He threw back his head in happiness and gave Toothless another hug, this time letting it last for a few moments.

It took a while, but he found the source of the blood. A gash on Toothless's leg. Nothing dangerous, nothing serious.

Hiccup was so happy that he did something very stupid. He pulled Merida into a hug, and then let his lips meet hers.

They lingered there for a moment, and then he pulled away, shocked at what he had done. In all honesty, it was a completely impulsive move. He might've even done it to anyone standing there at that particular moment.

Scratch that. He knew it was only Merida that he would kiss.

"I-I..." He smiled sheepishly. "It was a completely impulsive move, I promise. I was just... Happy." He gulped and jumped on Toothless, guiding him into the sky.

Merida stayed where she was. She knew that she should feel angry, enraged, even, at what he had done. But instead she smiled slightly and mounted Angus, who snorted at her reaction.

"Shut up," She laughed. And they galloped to the castle, where she knew Hiccup was waiting.

_

That night, Hiccup lay in bed happy. Toothless was alive, Merida hadn't been mad at him at the dinner table, and he had gotten a kiss.

Could life get better?

He thought about Merida for a moment. She had acted around him as she always did, no word about the kiss. There was the occasional scornful remark during dinner, a sarcastic joke. But he noticed she was smiling a lot more. That could only mean that she was happier.

Hopefully, because of the kiss.

Hiccup smiled to himself and rolled over, his eyes drooping. But then came the now-familiar pain in his head.

_'Next time, there will be a death. Don't come after us again, stupid boy.'_

Hiccup felt even more chilled when he felt a breeze blow through the room, and the window rattle slightly.

The dragon had just been in his room.

**There ya go. I hope you don't hate me for almost killing off Toothless!  
So what'd you think?**


	10. Chapter 10

"_What_?" Fergus paced back and forth in the throne room, stroking his bushy red beard. "You're sayin' it was in your _room_?"

Hiccup nodded and glanced at Merida, who stood next to him. She looked grim, but she still blushed a little when she saw him. That had been happening since Hiccup kissed her. He didn't quite know what to make of that. He hadn't exactly meant to kiss her, and he still had no idea if it was a good idea.

But, she hadn't hit him when it happened. That was always a plus, right?

"I'm sure of it," Hiccup confirmed. "And it did speak to me."

"What'd it say?" Merida asked. "I mean, what did _he_ say?"

Hiccup took in a deep breath. "He said, next time there will be death. And he also said I shouldn't go after them anymore."

Merida's eyes flashed. "I really hate dragons." She glanced at Hiccup and quickly corrected herself. "_Those_ Toothless."

Elinor stood up from her throne. "We must act immediately." She turned her brown eyes to Hiccup. "I think... I think your friends could be of great help to us."

Hiccup sighed. " knew this was going to happen," he said glumly.

"Do you not want them to come?" Elnor asked curiously. "I understand about the lass, but the rest?"

"No, no." Hiccup smiled slightly. "The la- I mean the girl is the one we need the most. Her battle strategy helps us quite a bit. But the others, well, I left without saying goodbye to any of them" He shrugged. "Haven't seen them in two years. Or my father. Kind of wanted things to stay like that."

Fergus sat down on his throne and rested his chin on a huge, bear-like hand. "We've already started the evacuations," he said. "But we need to find out who the leader of these dragons are. Maybe it'll give is a clue to when they'll attack. And maybe your friends can help with that."

"They're the Bagpipe Terrors, dad," Merida said. "That's what we've named 'em."

Fergus smiled for the first time since Hiccup had approached him that morning. "A fitting name, I see. But," his eyes grew dark. "hopefully it'll be changed to the Main Diet of the Scots."

"Original," Merida muttered.

Fergus shrugged. "What can I say. I'm a King, I don't need to be creative."

Hiccup sat down at his desk, charcoal pencil poised over the paper. He needed to write to his father, he knew. A task that would be immensely terrifying.

_Dear Dad._

No, that wouldn't do. Too friendly.

_Chief Stoick,_

Perfect, polite, but edging on cold.

_I am living in Scotland. There is a new breed of_

Terrible. Hiccup sighed and crumpled up the paper, and was about to start on a new letter when he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Come in," He called out, setting the pencil down and standing. He saw Merida standing there, biting her lip nervously, and sure enough, her freckled face was turning pink.

"Uh... I-I came to help you..." Her Scottish accent added to the nervous stutter almost made her sentence almost intelligible, but Hiccup just smiled warmly and waved her in.

"With what, exactly?"

"Your letter writing," She said. "I've been trained, you know."

Hiccup laughed. "You've been trained in letter writing?"

She nodded. "Yes, all princesses and princes have to. It's a big part of our life, you know."

Hiccup shrugged. "Okay." He walked over to his bed and began to tinker with the thing on his leg. "I need to take it off at the end of the day," he explained. "It's uncomfortable sometimes" He tugged at it, but to his surprise, it didn't give. "What the..." He tugged again. "This is the first time this has ever happened."

Merida stepped towards him. "Do you need help?"

Hiccup nodded reluctantly. "May as well."

She walked over and placed her hands on the cool metal. "Just tell me if it hurts."

"It always hurts," he muttered. Merida leaned back, letting gravity do the work, still holding onto the fake leg. It wasn't coming. She gave it an extra sharp tug, and it flew off. She wasn't ready for the sudden release, and fell flat on her back, much to her embarrassment.

"I-" She felt her face growing warm. "What-"

She was interrupted by a giggle, and then another. And then Hiccup was full-out laughing, so hard that he fell against his pillows.

This was too much for her. She was a proud girl, maybe the proudest in the Hiccup laugh at her, because she was trying to _help_ him, infuriated her.

"Everthing's a joke to you!" She snapped. "I can't believe this."

Hiccup stopped laughing and stared at her. "Merida, it was fun-"

"Everything is, to you," she muttered. "What was that stunt you pulled the other day? Kissing me like you had all the right in the world."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Look, I'm sorry, but it was on impulse! I was, I don't know, I was happy!"

"Doesn't mean you go around kissing people!" She stood up and brushed off her dress.

"But I wouldn't go kissing just anyone!" Hiccup sighed. "If your dad had been standing there, I wouldn't have! Or your mum, or... Or..." His voice grew soft. "Or Astrid."

Merida raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't've kissed Astrid?" Hiccup shook his head. "Would you have kissed _anyone_ but me?"

He shook his head once again.

An awkward silence filled the room, so thick that Merida almost choked. Or maybe she was flattered.

"Should we, uh, write the letter?" Hiccup finalyl asked. Merida laughed.

"I suck at writing letters!"

"What? You said you were trained!"

"Doesn't mean I'm good at it," she said with a grin. She left him then, to his thoughts, and to the realization that she had come to his room just to see him.

But he knew he had to push those thoughts away and turn to the dreary yet mandatory task of writing a letter to his father. After many re-writes, groans, and sighs of frustration, he was done.

Hiccup smiled at the finished product. Quick, to-the-point, and leaving out unnecessary details (besides the few resentful parts), it was perfect. He folded it, put in an envelope, and sealed it with the traditional red wax. A nearby servant carried it to a courier, who, while Hiccup was settling into bed, rode on a horse to another courier, who brought it to a ship. This ship was the "Sea Viking", and as the name suggests, was a ship of Berk. Stoick often sent ships over to Scotland for supplies, and Hiccup knew this.

But, the Vikings had a new system. As the ship reached a certain part of its course (a day in), Stoick sent two dragons. Dragons that were ridden by couriers. A journey that would have taken around a week by ship took only two days in all, and it was two and a half days after Hiccup sent the letter that Stoick recieved it.

He was standing on a cliff overlooking the harsh ocean below. A few dragons were flying past him, the drivers on them whooping with delight. But Stoick just stared straight ahead, angry as ever. He had been three times as angry as usual since Hiccup had left. Nobody knew that this anger was a disguise for the great sadness and guilt he felt for banishing his own son.

No one except Gobber, of course.

The man limped up behind him, his trademark grin on his face.

"What do you need, Gobber," Stoick growled, not turning around to face his friend. Gobber just kept on grinning and shoved a letter with a red seal into Stoick's face.

"What's this?" Stoick asked, finally turning to face Gobber and snatching the letter out of his hands. "Who's it from?"

"Scotland," Gobber said. "From the Queen, perhaps, or maybe even the King,?"

Stoick just wordlessly opened the letter, and started reading aloud.

"Stoick," He began. "For the past 2 years, since you banished me from my home..." He trailed off as he realized who it was from. "Hiccup?" He murmured to himself. Gobber's grin disappeared.

"I-I have been living in Scotland,"

"So that's where the rascal's been," Gobber muttered with a small smile. Stoick just went on.

"Around a week ago, I got a letter from Queen Elinor of Scotland asking me to help her, King Fergus, and their daughter Merida track down a problem "creature" that she thought was a dragon. I'd like you to know that she asked me to help her because I have been extremeley successful here, without my father to help me."

Stoick raised his eyebrows.

"He sure likes to rub it in, huh?" Gobber said with a laugh.

Stoick sighed and read, "Merida and I found that there was a whole breed of Scottish dragons living in the forests of Scotland, although all these years they've been underground or in caves sleeping. They have only woken up because, as they have said, I am here."

"Because Hiccup moved to Scotland, a bunch o' dragons woke up?" Gobber asked in disbelief. "I mean, I know he has a way with them, but..."

Stoick looked just as stunned as Gobber. "nhow did they tell him that?" Stoick mused. He continued reading aloud. "They plan to conquer Scotland, which they think is rightfully theirs, and they will kill anyone who tries to stop them. The King has started evacuation processes, but we are determined not to give this country over to the dragons. I want to do this as peacefully as possible, but we have to first defeat their leader, who we have never seen."

Gobber snorted.

"The dragons have special abilities, but I don't need to tell you that unless you agree to come here with Astrid and the rest of the gang, and anyone else who you think can help us defeat the dragons." Stoick took a deep breath, as if what he was about to read took the life out of him. "From Hiccup."  
Gobber laid a hand on Stoick's shoulder. "Now, I know you don't like the Scots, but wrhats the harm?We may as well send the 'gang' over, right? And me? And you?"

Stoick shook his head. "I'm not goin'."

Gobber sighed. "Why?" He waited for a second. "Why am I asking? You just don't want to see him _becausHe_ you're ashamed of what you did two years ago."

Stoick glared at him. "Maybe it has something to do with Astrid. Ever think of that?"

Gobber scoffed. "Yeah, right. It _will_ be awkward for 'em, though."

"It won't," Stoick growled, "because we're _not_ going."

"Whatever." Gobber started to walk away. "I'll get the gang together," he called over his shoulder.

Stoick didn't object.

**Hey everyone. This chapter was spo much fun to write! You finally get to see how Stoick feels about this! Are you excited? **

**I know I am :D **

**You guys are going to love what's coming. I think. At least, I ****_hope_**** you do.**

**Anyways, favourite, follow, review! Thanks for doing all of these so far :)**

**Sorry for any spelling mistakes.**


	11. Chapter 11

Astrid was sitting with Ruffnut. Both girls were in the dragon-fighting arena, although it was now just a fight-training area. They were watching Snotlout and Tuffnut practice their sword fighting against each other. Astrid watched Snotlout stab his sword, which was wooden and blunt, at Tuffnut. He had been asking her out over the years constantly. Each time, she said no, and each time, he said it was because she missed Hiccup. She denied it.

Astrid knew, of course, that it _was _the absence of Hiccup that made her refuse anyone who fell for her.

But she tried to ignore that.

Ruffnut snorted as Tuffnut stumbled over his shield, and fell on his butt.

"Good one, idiot!" She called over with a laugh. She was dating Fishlegs. As odd as it would seem four years ago, it came as no surprise to anyone that they had become an item. Over the years, Fishlegs had grown upwards and lost the roly-poly roundness that had deemed him as immature and babyish in the past years. Instead, he had actually turned into a somewhat handsome boy, although Ruffnut found that she loved him because of how he was able to spew out facts about anything and everything.

She loved a smart boy, and as everyone had noticed, she had taken a liking to Hiccup when he had been successful in warding off the dragons without violence. That, of course, was in the old days.

When asked about Hiccup, she always stood up for him resolutely. She knew, as almost everyone else did, that it was not necessary for Hiccup to have been banished, and she never let Astrid forget it.

Astrid, in turn, was guily for having supported the decision.

Everyone missed Hiccup. There was no denying it.

Tuffnut let out a growl of frustration and scowled at his twin.

"Shut up," he muttered. "I'd like to see you try to beat this guy. He's a friggin' tank."

Ruffnut shrugged. "Sure." She grabbed his sword as she passed him and assumed the stance. Snotlout smirked at her.

"Bring it," he said.

"You asked for it." In a series of exactly three moves, she deftly knocked his sword ot of his hand, forced him a step back, and held the sword to his throat.

"Yeah, right!" Tuffnut laughed. "Dude, you suck!"

"Shut up." Snotlout glanced and Astrid and flashed hs trademark flirt-smile. "You see, Astrid, I can usually beat anyone. I've been working out lately, you see, and-"

"Astrid, Ruffnut, and you two boys," a voice interrupted, "C'mere."

They turned to see Gobber, who was standing next to Fishlegs. He had an odd smile on his face, and urged them to go faster with his hook. "Hurry up, now, we don't have all day."

Astrid glanced at the rest of her friends and jogged over.

"What's up?" She asked, taking off her helmet and smoothing down her hair. "Everything good?"

"Weeeellll..." Gobber smiled. "I know you all miss fightin' dragons, eh?"

They all shrugged. They obviously enjoed their now peaceful relationship with the dragons, but they _did_ miss the adrenaline rush, the thrill of the fight.

"If that's a yes, then I have good news for you." He cleared his throat and unfolded what looked to be a letter. "This is a letter from someone. I'll read it out." He waited for complete silence, and began. "Stoick, for the past two years, since you banished me from my home..."

He read the rest with a twinkle in his eye, and then glanced at everyone. The twins just looked completely overjoyed to know that Hiccup was safe. Tuffnut was snickering with the sneaky insults that Hiccup had added in towards his father. Ruffnut swatted him as he muttered, "that's my boy." Fishlegs was just as happy, and let out a giggle. Snotlout was obviously glad, but he was more focusing on Astrid, who looked completely shocked.

"Th-Th-That's from... Him?"

"If by Him you mean Hiccup, then yes."

Astrid let out a little laugh, and then stopped, and then laughed again.

"So, if all of you are up to it, then we'll leave tomorrow. Stoick's already sent a letter back."

"When'd you get this letter?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yesterday," Gobber replied. "Our dragon couriers will fly the whole way there, because there are no ships due to return to Scotland this time. The letter will arrive sometime late today. We'll get there around noon tomorrow, if we leave early tomorrow."

"I'm in," Said Fishlegs. He began muttering about airspeed and wing length and miles-per-minute sort of stuff. The twins agreed, as well as Snotlout. Tuffnut began to wonder about the Scottish princess that had been mentioned in the letter. Astrid took a deep breath and nodded.

They were going to see Hiccup again.

There was a silence for a minute, and then Fishlegs brightened.

"I bet we can get there faster is you all just do what I do."

Gobber glanced at him. "Tell me about it, Fishlegs, lemme see if I agree." The pair walked away together, leaving the gang thinking. Astrid turned away from the rest and left the arena.

I'm going to see Hiccup again, she thought. Will he still like me? Will he be happy? Her brow furrowed. Will he be... Angry?

Only time would tell.

...

For the few days after Hiccup sent the letter, he and Merida scouted out the area the dragons were staying in. There were continued attacks on people's houses, although they were becoming more and more harmless as the evacuations began to become successful. There were, unfortunately, a few deaths. King Fergus grew more and more nervous, pacing the halls of the castle. Elinor spent her time picking at her clothes with a crease between her brows, a sure sign that she was worried.

Even Merida grew worried. The deaths unsettled her, and she could often be found out in the stables, or going for a walk in the woods, which was becoming decidedly unsafe.

Everyone was affected when there came news of three little kids dying, two boys and one little girl.

At that, Merida snapped. She and Hiccup and her parents had been gathered in the throne room when she heard the news, but she pushed through all of them and ran through the castle halls, finally depositing herself in an unused guest bedroom, in the closet. She didn't think anyone would find fact, she was fully prepared to grieve in solitude.

She underestimated Hiccup's finding skills..

"Merida?" He whispered, interrupting her silent mourning. She looked up to see his green eye peering through a crack between the two closet doors. She wasn't crying, just thinking very deeply.

"Hiccup." Nothing more, just his name. He shuffled in and sat quietly down next to her, not sure what to do. After a minute, he laid his hand on hers.

"I-I know how you..." He swallowed. "I know how you feel. Once, during one of the dragon attacks, a little girl from Berk was killed. It hit everyone hard because she was so... Happy. And then we found out that two of the neighbours' children had been in her house when it burned down." He drew in a shaky breath. "Nobody was the same. Berk was quiet for days, the families were forever scarred." He avoided her eyes, still keeping his hand on hers. "Anways, what I'm trying to say is, everyone recovered. Slowly, of course, but we did."

"You're telling me," Merida said, "that I'll get over it."

"Yes." Hiccup glanced at her, her angry expression. "Is that such a bad thing, Merida? I wasn't that blunt. I'm just... I know it's hit you hard, Merida, and I know you're down right now. But it's not about that. It's not about the fact that you're down. It's about how you, you know, recover. How you get back up, how you help others get back up." He sighed. "And I know this is a terrible thing, and I know that it's going to affect all of us. But we need to avenge these children, and we need to prevent this from ever happening again."

Merida was silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, she was crying.

"Y-You're right."

Hiccup pulled her close, and it was a hug like no other. It wasn't a friendly hug, although that was what it was meant to be. However, the memory of the kiss they had shared that one time, the tight space, and the darkness brought it to a whole new level. It was almost a romantic hug, and made the situation awkward.

"Is this too weird?" Hiccup whispered. He felt Merida shrug.

"Maybe, but..." She tilted her face up, her lips so unimaginably close to his. "I don't mind too much."

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat. He was completely surprised. This was just so... Un-Merida. But he grinned and closed the distance. Merida's first thoughts were pure, simple relief, and happiness that spread through her body.

Hiccup felt the same way. Heat spread fron his lips and pooled in his toes, and he smiled against her mouth, and set his hands on her hips. For the first time in a while, he felt completely and utterly happy.  
Merida kissed him. Merida kissed _him_.

He felt himself blushing slightly, and noticed that she was, too.

The kiss was not a long one, but it was still the most electrical, the most satisfying he had ever experienced. He was disappointed when Merida pulled away, but he was also aware that it was for the best. They knew their boundaries with each other, and anything other than kissing just seemed plain inappropriate. In the closeness of the closet, crossing that boundary was very possible.

Merida opened her mouth, obviously about to say something, but a bell interrupted her.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means my parents need me," Merida said. "And probably you." She hurried out of the closet, shooting him a smile on the way.

When he was alone, he sighed. "Ruined by the bell," he muttered.

...

"Hiccup," Elinor read in a calm, clear voice. "Your father and I read your letter, and we agreed to help. Even though the Scots aren't the most agreeable of people-" Elinor coughed, "we can't let a whole country go to waste. We'll be there the day after you recieve this letter. By everyone I mean all your friends, as well as me, and your dad, of course." Elinor smiled. "Glad to hear from you. Sincerely, Gobber. And Hiccup, I hope you realize your dad told me what to write in this letter, and made it seem like I did. Except for this part. This was all me."

Hiccup smiled at his old friend's words. "Gobber was always a cool guy."

King Fergus looked at Hiccup. "This just came a few minutes ago. " He searched Merida's eyes. "Merida, uh, I know the news of the little girls upset you, and I'm sorry to have called you back here right when you ran out, but I figured this was important."

Merida smiled sadly. "It's alright, dad. Thanks."

"Well," Elinor sighed. "We'll have guest bedrooms set up. How many?"

Hiccup thought. "There's Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Gobber, my dad, and..." He gulped. "Astrid."

Merida stared at him, strying to ignore a feeling that had been making its way to her mind ever since the kissed a few minutes ago. Regret. She swatted the thought away. She shouldn't regret kissing Hiccup. But at the same time, she knew that Hiccup might not be over Astird.

Above all, though, she was scared. Merida was scared of being in a relationship, and she was giving in. She was making herself believe that her and Hiccup just weren't meant for each other.

Calm down, Merida, she thought. Just... Calm down.

"Well," she said aloud with a bright smile. "I guess that means seven."

Elinor just stared at Hiccup. "Odd names."

The teenager shrugged. "What can I say," he grinned. "We're Vikings."

"Well," Merida said. "I'm going to go and get ready for bed."

"Merida, wait." Hiccup followed her out. Fergus raised an eyebrow at Elinor.

"What do you think's going on between 'em?"

Elinor sighed. "I don't know. What I do know, though, is that Merida can't fall for that boy."

"Why not?" Fergus asked.

"Because, Fergus." Elinor glanced down at her hands. "I have arranged a marriage with a prince from not too far away. It is a promise that cannot be undone."

Fergus stared at her. "Without asking me?"

She sagged against her throne. "Fergus... I know it was a bad idea. I did it when I was mad. I'm sorry." She whispered the last two words, and her vulnerability melted Fergus's heart.

"We've got to undo this," he said. But he folded his wife into a hug, and kissed her cheek. He knew she was as stubborn as Merida. But this time, she had gone too far.

...

"Merida, wait up!" Hiccup finally caught up to Merida, who had been all but running to her room.

She whirled around and stared at Hiccup. :I-Hiccup, it was a mistake."

He stopped in his tracks. "What? What was?"

"Kissing you." She blinked tears away. "I... You're still in love with Astrid, and I'm- I'm just scared, okay? I can't do this?"

"You can't... Be my girlfriend" Hiccup asked quietly. "You're scared?"

"I'm not ready," she whispered. "I'm just not." Thoughts of Astrid filled her mind. Was she beautiful?

Hiccup's mind was filled with thoughs of Astrid, too, but only because she was the first one. The first one to, with lack of any other cheesy phrase, break his heart.

But he just stared at her for a long moment, turned, and headed to his room. He hadn't realized that he really, truly, had become to like Merida.

**Hi. I read over the last chapter, and realized with a very loud and annoyed scream the a bunch of the sentences were deleted half-way through. So, sorry for any confusiuon. Hopefully that won't happen here.**

**Thanos for following, reviewing, and favouriting! Please keepn on doing so, let me know what you think! I lurve input.**


	12. Chapter 12

Hiccup's friends were quickly making their way to Scotland. Unfortunately, Fishlegs was on his Gronkle, and when urged by the others, he flat-out refused to abandon his dragon, which had been dubbed "Grinky". This slowed down the vikings considerably. The twins, both on their two-headed dragon, were fighting the whole way to Scotland, and when they weren't, they were glaring at each other, simutaneously trying to guide the confused dragon in the right direction. Snotlout rode his Monstrous Nightmare, whom he had named Fire Demon, but against his wish, everyone called his steed Sparky.

And then Astrid, the most serious of any of them. She flew ahead with Gobber and Stoick, who each rode a Monstrous Nightmare. She didn't speak, but everyone knew what was on her mind.

She was going to see Hiccup.

Stoick and Gobber spoke quietly to each other, Fishlegs was reciting facts about Scotland to himself, and Snotlout listened to the twins fight. He eventually got so tired of it that he flew up next to Astrid, who barely acknowledged his presence.

"Listen," he said awkwardly. "I just wanted to apologize."

She glanced at him. "For?"

"For asking you out all those times. It was stupid, I know." He laughed and ran a hand through his hair."I just... I wanted to let you know that it won't happen again."

He circled Sparky back to Fishlegs, leaving Astrid speechless. She didn't know what to think of what had just happened. She didn't even know how she _felt_ about it. Did she care that the boy that had been in love with her for 4, maybe more, years randomly decided to stop? Did she care that he was already talking about the Scottish princess that was rumoured to be so beautiful?

Of course not. She was made for Hiccup, not Snotlout. At least, that's what she told herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout from Stoick. They were circling over Scotland. Gobber glanced back at them all and nodded. They had talked about this, formulated a safe plan that would land them somewhere by the castle. One by one, they dropped into nose dives with impressives skill and maneuvering, although they didn't complare to Hiccup and Toothless.

Astrid watched the castle loom closer and closer to them, and she pulled her dragon, Rosie, to a nice, level pace. Stoick and Gobber, who were on either side of her, did the same, the threesome ignoring the whoops and shrieks of joy coming from the four others behind them. Stoick and Gobber were much too mature, but Astrid was just plain nervous. The shouts of joy and laughter quieted when they saw a squire signalling to them from one of the turrets.

This is it, Astrid thought. This is it.

The squire pointed towards the back of the castle, where Astrid saw a large meadow.

"Land!" Stoick cried. "Nice n' gentle." The teens obeyed, dropping their dragons to the ground gently, all smiling from the adrenaline rush of flying, even Astrid.

Astrid hopped off her blue dragon, brushing a strand of golden hair from her eyes.

"I can't wait to see this Scottish princess!" Snotlout said eagerly. "Think she'll be ho-"

"Excuse me," A calm voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see a man and woman standing calmly at the end of the meadow. It was the woman who had spoken, who was exceptionally beautiful.

Stoick bowed his head grudgingly and then took a deep breath.

"Queen Elinor," he nodded. "King Fergus."

"Peasure to meet ya," Fergus smiled. Snotlout flinched at the strong accent, and tried to hold back a laugh, instead letting out a snort.

"Stop!" Astrid hissed. She elbowed him and stepped forward boldy.

"I'm Astrid," she said clearly. "It's an honour to meet you. This is Snotlout. Those are the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and that boy there is Fishlegs. We are all here to help."

"And I'm Gobber," Gobber said, hobbling forward. "Good to meet you."

Elinor looked a bit overwhelmed by the manners and boldness of the Vikings, as well as their distinctive accents. But Fergus came to her rescue by announcing Merida.

"Merida is my daughter," he said. "I need to warn you, she is strong headed." Snotlout grinned at this, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Hope she's feisty," he whispered. Astris felt a surge of anger.

"Just shut up, already" she said.

A tall, slender girl with a fountain of red curls springing from her head stepped into view, leading an enormous black and white horse. Astrid caught her breath. The girl was beautiful. Beautiful enough to attract Hiccup, for sure. And Snotlout.

He swaggered up to her and pulled his helmet off. Everyone watched as he cocked his hip, narrowed his eyes into slits, and flexed his arms.

"What's he doing?" Ruffnut asked, her face going red. "He's making fools out of all of us!"

Astrid held back a laugh.

"He's trying to flirt."

"Uh, hello," Merida said, for once taken aback. "W-What are you doin'? Is this a... Some sort of weird Viking custom?"

"Not a custom," Fishlegs said. "We call it idiocy."

Snotlout immediately stood straight, but didn't give up.

"The name's Snotlout," he said with a wink. "Strongest Viking here, no doubt." He didn't notice Stoick carrying everyone's bags in his enormoursly thick arms behind him, his immense size making Snotlout look tiny. "I'm know back in Berk as 'Muscle'."

Merida stared at him blankly, and then turned to everyone else.

"Hiccup left to take Toothless for a fly about an hour ago," she said regretfully. "Guess he didn't realize that you were coming so early."

Stoick let out a sigh of relief, probably because of the delay in seeing his son.

"That's fine," he assured her. "How about we just get to our rooms, maybe-"

A flutter of wings, a small gust of wind.

"-have something to eat, talk about the-"

A large black shape dropped quickly but softly to the ground infront of them.

"-dragons," Stoick finished, his eyes opening wide. He could see someone riding Toothless, but the person's face was hidden by a helmet that covered his face. Not only that, but he was wearing some sort of leathery armour. But when the rider got off, and pulled his hemlet off of his head, everyone's thoughts were confirmed.

Hiccup. His eyes, really, were the only part of him that were the same. Eyes that Merida used to think were hazel, but were really a startling green. His hair was longer, and shaggier, his body taller and more filled out. A certain sadness was etched around his eyes, which gave him a maturity that nobody recognized.

"Hiccup?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut asked in unison, both incredulous.

"No-" Tuffnut started.  
"-way" Ruffnut finsihed. They both stepped forward hesitantly, looking at him closer.

"Dude," Snotlout shouted. "You're so different! Awesome!" He ran forward, and then, like the twins, stopped a few feet away in awe. Fishlegs came to stand next to Ruffnut, grabbing her hand, and Gobber hobbled over as fast as possible.

They all saw Hiccup's lips pull into a slight smile.

"Hey guys."

It broke the ice. They converged on him, tackling him into the scariest hug ever known to mankind. Hiccup laughed and pushed them off easily, and then stood up.

"I can't... What?" Ruffnut laughed. "I can't believe it's you! And Toothless!" She gestured wildly at the dragon, who stood watching protectively. When he heard Ruffnut say his name, though, he seemed to snap out of his trance, and grinned happily. His friends were back.

Astrid stepped forward, not sure what to do. Would he hug her like never before? Or would he stonily ignore her?

Neither. He caught sight of her, and to his complete astonishment, didn't feel a thing. Not butterflies of love, not anger. He simply didn't care anymore. She had done him wrong, and he had forgiven.

"Hi Astrid,'' He greeted. Merida watched curiously, all of her regrets of their kiss vanishing. Hiccup had no feelings for Astrid. At all. It was obvious to everyone, and so was the disappointment on Astrid's face. Ruffnut smiled sympathetically but shrugged. Everyone knew, after all, that it was Astrid's fault the couple had broken up.

Hiccup began to laugh at something Tuffnut said, and stumbled over a stray branch, drawing giggles from everyone except Astrid and Stoick. The huge Viking chief watched from a distance, and then, very nervously, greeted his son.

"Hiccup."

Hiccup's laughter instantly stopped, his smile melting away.

"Sir," he responded coldly. He might have forgiven Astrid, but definitely not his own father. He turned to everyone else and sighed quietly. "Um, there's servants and people inside who can show you your rooms."

"I'll show you," Elinor spoke up, having been quieted by the scene that had just played out in front of her. "I personally oversaw the decorating of your rooms..." Her voice faded away as she walked back towards the castle, and the teens hurriedly followed after her, as well as Stoick and Gobber.

Astrid turned back, ready to talk to Hiccup. But she saw Merida start to, saw his smile when she opened her mouth.

She saw him steal a kiss from her and the run away, laughing maniacally. She saw Merida's cheeks flush bright red, the smile she tried to cover up.

And she felt anger, raw and deep and painful. Her mind flashed back to the day Hiccup had left.

_Astrid walked away from Hiccup. He didn't notice her wiping away her tears, he didn't notice the pure pain that was evident on her face. She thought about all that had just happened. A baby dragon, in Hiccup's care, had gone a bit too crazy. Its small puff of flame had lit a house on fire. She knew it had to be killed, she knew that it could happen again, someone could get hurt._

_Or did it have to be? _

_She was stupid, she knew, for listening to Stoick banish his son. But she thought Hiccup wouldn't leave, she thought he would still be there in the morning to work things out, to earn another chance to stay, another chance to set things right._

_That night she went to sleep determined to apoligize to Hiccup. She woke up the same way. But when she arrived at her boyfriend's house and saw that Toothless was gone, and Stoick was hiding his tears, she realized what had happened._

_And she knew Hiccup wasn't coming back._

_When this realization hit her, she fell to her knees in a dizzying wave of pain. He had left. He had left Berk, and his friends._

_All because of her._

As she stood, watching Merida and her blushing face, the princess turned and locked her eyes with Astrid, the pink fading away from her face. A friendly smile tugged at Merida's lips, a smile that told Astrid she knew everything, she knew what Astrid had done, but still friendly.

Astrid shouldhave smiled back, or given some sort of sign. But she didn't, because she was still angry. And to her, Merida took away Hiccup.

And she was determined to get him back.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys. So, I didn't realize that the dragons already had names, besides Toothless (thank you to the guest who told me). For now, I'm just going keep on calling them what I did previously, is that okay with everyone? I hope it is.**  
**I'd like to thank you all for your lovely reviews, they make me smile so much! (Dragons-of-berk ;D)**  
**Anyways, please leave a review, and follow and fav! Enjoy this chapter.**

**Didn't realize I had accidentally written Night Furies instead of Monstrous Nightmares. So Stoick and Gobber AREN'T riding Night furies. I edited this chapter and reposted it.**

Merida stared after Astrid, shaken. Had she annoyed the girl? Did Astrid take her smile the wrong way?

One thing was for sure. Merida did not want to have a fight, or a competition, over Hiccup with Astrid. She knew that everyone had to be level headed if they were to work together, and there was one solution: Avoid Hiccup. Maybe then, Astrid would calm down enough to help out, and her help would be needed if Hiccup was correct.

Merida squared her shoulders, pleased that she was for once being quite sensible. It was for the best, she knew, even if it meant avoiding Hiccup.

She was still unsure how she felt about him.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was following his friends to their rooms. Snotlout and Fishlegs were sharing a large suite, and Hiccup stopped in to catch up. He saw Fishlegs scribbling furiously at a desk, and Snotlout lying on his bed, gazing out the huge window.

"Dude," He said with a grin. "Merida's pretty cute, huh?"

Hiccup hid a smile behind his hand, and stared at Snotlout very seriously. "She's alright, I guess."

"That hair..." Snotlout sighed.

"Uh, what about Astrid?" Hiccup asked hesitantly, scuffing the ground with his shoe. "I thought you had a thing for her?"

"He did until today," Fishlegs said from his place at the desk. "He told her on the way here that he was tired of following after her all the time."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "You've loved her forever, asked her out millions of times, and she never once said yes? Even after I left?"

"Even after you left," Snotlout confirmed sheepishly. He straightened. "I'm a different man, now. I'm not going to follow her around like a lost puppy. There are..." He looked once more out the window at Merida, who was standing in the meadow where everyone had arrived. "Other things waiting for me."

"Look, Snotlout," Hiccup cut in. "I think you should know that Merida and I, are, you know."

"What?" Snotlout asked. "What are you?"

"We're..."

"They're together," Fishlegs called over.

"Well, sort of." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "We've kissed, you know, but I'm not sure where we stand."

Snotlout broke out into a grin. "High five!" Hiccup was confused, but obliged. "I'm still gonna try to win her over, though," Snotlout added. Hiccup laughed. They both knew that Merida was not the sort to leave someone for someone else.

"Hoping it'll make Astrid jealous?" Fishlegs asked slyly. Snotlout whipped his head around and glared at Fishlegs, but it was out. He still liked Astrid. Hiccup snickered and patted him on the shoulder.

"You can try, Puppy Dog," he said, and then he was gone.

"He's changed a lot," Snotlout said, gazing after his friend in fascination. "He's not such a twig anymore."

Fishlegs nodded. "I know. He's not as clumsy, either. I don't think he's even burnt down any buildings in the alst few years."

Snotlout laughed.

Everyone gathered around the table, ready for lunch. Fergus sat at one end, Elinor at the other. Hiccup tried to sit next to Merida, bt she quickly squeezed in between her father and Ruffnut, shooting Hiccup an apologetic yet relieved smile. Hiccup shrugged and sat down to the left of Fishlegs, who had Ruffnut on his right, who in turn was sitting next to her brother. Astrid sat on the other side of the table, with Stoick and Grobber on either side of her.

"So, " Fergus said grimly. "There's been another fire." Everyone looked up from their lunch and conversations, ready to hear what he had to say. "A dog died, but no people." Everyone accepted this. To the Vikings, it wasn't very sad. The only pets they had were dragons. Merida felt her heart clench in her chest, though, sad that such a loyal creature was dead.

"From the dragon?" Hiccup asked, knowing the answer. Fergus nodded.

Elinor spoke up. "We want all of you to fly over there once you've been updated on what these dragons are like, as well as their history." She glanced at Hiccup, and he cleared his throat.

"Merida and I first discovered the dragon in the forest. It was talking to me in my mind, and I'm the only one who can hear it." Everyone nodded, Stoick had updated them on it. It was still odd, though. "There are a lot of them, and they've lived in Scotland for hundreds of years," Hiccup went on. "We're not sure how many. They can turn invisible, breathe fire, and fly. There was one in my room once, and I didn't know it until it spoke to me." He took a deep breath. "They hurt Toothless once. Merida shot one of them with her arrows, but it didn't harm him." He glanced at Merida, smiling a little. Astrid sighed internally. "We know this: They're a few different colours all at once, purple, orange, red, blue, red, lots. If we find a scale, you'll see. Fishlegs, you getting all of this?" Fishlegs nodded, his pencil flying.

"Hopefully," he said while writing, "I'll be able to figure out its weak spot. You say it can turn invisible whenever it wants?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes. We can see the fire, of course."

"It can't be very easy always turning invisible," Astrid mused. Fishlegs eyes brightened.

"That could be a weak spot!" He exclaimed. Astrid smiled, and for a second Merida got a glimpes of the nice girl Astrid really was.

Stoick finally spoke up. "Do they have some sort of leader? Because I remember the nest had that big one-"

"Yes," Hiccup said, stiffening at hearing his father's voice. "They said something about that. It's up to the leader when they attack. That's why we need to find out as much as possible about it. Hopefully it won't be too big."

He knew, obviously, that the leader would be huge. Dragon leaders always were, and this was a particularily nasty breed of dragons.

Gobber sat forward eagerly, pushing his empty plate forward. 'Don't know 'bout you kids, but I'm ready to go find this thing!" The Vikings cheered, and Merida looked around at them bewildered by their loudness, as well as how rowdy they were. She sort of liked it, though.

"Oh, Gobber?" Hiccup asked. "Which dragons are you riding?"

"Your father and I are riding different ones that usual," Gobber said. "Monstrous Nightmares. We figured they'd be more helpful with these dragons, being faster and such. But we're not coming with you guys today. Have some things to finish up."

Hiccup nodded, avoiding his father's gaze. "Good choice." He smiled at everyone else and excused himself to get changed into his flying gear.

"You're just going to the burn site, remember," Elinor reminded everyone. "You don't need to get into armour."

"We don't have armour," Tuffnut laughed.

"Yeah," Ruffnut put in with an odd grin. "We're Vikings, after all."

Elinor looked taken back by their behaviour, but nodded. "Alright then." She got up to go finish her book, and Fergus gave everyone a solemn nod.

Ruffnut and Astrid left to go get their dragons ready, Merida following awkwardly. Snotlout and Fishlegs went off to their room.

He's changed," Stoick said quietly. "I can't believe it."

"Well," Gobber said thoughtfully, "he certainly is more mature."

They stood up and left to their seperate rooms, Stoick to go over his weapon inventory, and Gobber to take a nap.

When Hiccup arrived in the meadow, everyone was on their dragons.

"Sorry," he called out. "Didn't realize I was holding you up." He started to "saddle up" Toothless, putting on the gear and equipment. Toothless rubbed his head against Hiccup's shoulder as he waited, excited to have his friend flying on him.

"Good boy, Toothless," Hiccup said with a tender smile. He scratched Toothless on his head, listening to the dragon's purrs.

Ruffnut smiled at the pair. She had missed them.

"You riding with me, Merida?" Hiccup asked. Merida knew it would be practical, rather than ride Angus. He was a little bit slower, and was more likely to cover the scent. She nodded reluctantly, ignoring Hiccup's questioning glance, and climbed up behind him.

"Everything okay?" Hiccup asked. Merida didn't answer, but glanced at Astrid, who was looking angry.

It wasn't working. Astrid wasn't any happier.

Hiccup began to wonder if Merida was mad at him, but ignored the feeling. "Let's go," He called out.

Toothless lifted them off the ground, his enormous black wings sending mini tornadoes spinning through the grass and dirt. Everyone stared at the beautiful black dragon, almost awe-struck. They hadn't seen him in years, after all, and were amazed by how much stronger he was. Hiccup laughed and guided Toothless in circles over everyone as they got in the air, and then led the way to the column of black smoke in the distance. He felt Merida's arms wrap around him a little bit tighter. He also felt Astrid's fiery gaze. And then it became clear to him. Merida wasn't mad at him, she was trying to avoid a fight.

"You don't have to do this," He shouted back to her, the wind roaring in his ears. "It's not your fault she's acting like this."

"I don't want it to mess up everything," Merida called back. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."

Hiccup felt something jolt through him, wondering if Merida had just officially ended whatever there was between them.


	14. Chapter 14

Hiccup was silent as they continued to the burn site. The others called out to one another happily as they looped through the air, even Astrid. They were flying after all. But Hiccup was as silent as a rock.

"H-Hiccup?" Merida finally asked, touching his shoulder. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Did you just end it?" He asked tensely. She saw a muscle feather in his jaw.

"End... What, exactly?"

"Our... Whatever there is between us."  
"I-" She was interrupted by a shout from Astrid, who was pointing at the house below, its charred skeleton still smoking. Merida never finished what she was was going to say, but inside, she knew that she didn't want to end it.

They landed gently on the ground, and Hiccup jumped off. Despite the fact that he was unhappy with her, at the very least confused, he still reached up and lifted her down.

"Thanks," she said quietly. He nodded and walked over to the remainder of the house.

"Toothless," He called. "Come see if you can catch a scent." Toothless scampered over and sniffed. "Is it the same dragon?" Hiccup asked. "The one who we've talked to?"

Toothless shook his head slightly. He was starting to learn the ways of humans, for example, nodding and shaking one's head. Hiccup sighed, knowing this was not a good sign.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Ruffnut asked, running a hand through her tangled blond hair.

"Nothing good," Hiccupn replied.

"It means," Fishlegs said grimly, "that the dragon wasn't bluffing. It means that there are more dragons, and it means they are as dangerous, too."

"Great," Astrid muttered. Merida watched as she carefully scuffed at the ashes, searching for clues.

"Found something!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly. He and Snotlout were kneeling on the ground, looking through the ashes. He stood up, waving his hand around.

"What's he holding?" Merida sked, squinting.

"It looks like a scale," Hiccup replied thoughtfully. He ran over to Fishlegs, stumbling on a brick as he went but regaining his balance. Merida just smiled.

Snotlout took it from Tuffnut and held it against Toothless's scales. It was at least twice as big.

"How big are these dragons, exactly?"

"Bigger than Toothless," Merida mumbled. "I wonder how big the leader will be."

"Huge," Ruffnut said. "I bet it could even be bigger than the Red Death."

The rest of the Vikings all glanced at one another worriedly. Merida knew what the Red Death was, but she hadn't been there to see it, and instantly felt left out.

Snotlout noticed and slung an arm around her shoulder, leaning in close.

"Don't you worry," he said with a wink. "You'll be able to see one just like it some day."

Merida wiggled out of his grasp, her face flushing red. "What are you _doing_?"

Snotlout shrugged and stepped away, glancing quickly at Astrid. She didn't seem to be jealous, much to his disappointment. Of course, he couldn't read her mind. If he could've read Hiccup's mind, though, he never would have flirted with Merida. Not after what just happened between her and Hiccup.

Fishlegs rushed up and snatched the scale from Snotlout's grasp.

"Hey!" Snotlout said indignantly. He reached for it, but Fishlegs swatted him away, sending him flying into a pile of ashes. Not knowing what he did, he turned to the others excitedly. "This could help me!" He said excitedly.

"Fishlegs," Ruffnut said with a laugh. "I don't think you realize your own strength."

Fishlegs glanced over at his shoulder, and saw Snotlout getting up painfully.

"Oh well," he said. "I have the scale, and that's what matters. See how it goes sorta invisible sometimes?"

They all took a closer look. It was true.

"Why does it do that?" Tuffnut asked incredulously.

"You know how when a bee or something dies, and its legs twitch afterwards from the nerves going all wonky?"

Everyone nodded.

"Sort of the same thing. When the scale falls off, it dies. There aren't nerves in the scales, but when it dies, it does the same sort of thing as the bee." He explained.

"How is this going to help?" Astrid asked. "We have a scale, so what?"

"Well, if I can look through some books and find out a few things about invisibility in dragons-there's going to be at least a legend-I might be able to mix a few things, and hopefully come up with a way to make this thing, well, not invisible. At least temporarily."

"Is he that smart?" Merida whispered to Hiccup. He shrugged.

"I'm not too sure."

Astrid sighed, and rested her hands on her hips. "Well?' She asked Hiccup. "What do we do now?"

Hiccup noticed everyone was looking at him expectantly, even Merida. He realized what it mean. It meant he was the leader, it meant everyone was looking up to him.

Everyone depended on him.

"I say we get Toohless-and the rest of the dragons-to follow the scent," he said.

Everyone agreed, although Merida looked a little bit perplexed.

"Okay?" Hiccup asked her.

"Something doesn't feel right," she muttered. Hiccup was about to ask her why, but was interrupted by Astrid telling them to hurry up.

Soon, everyone was following Toothless as he took flight, following the dragon's exact sense.

"How does he smell so well?" Merida asked, amazed.

"Dragons are like that," Hiccup said with a slight smile. "They're amazing."

Toothless led them to the forest once more, dropping down through the trees, right in front of...

A cave.

"Is this where the dragon lives?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut asked in unison.

"I think so, Hiccup said slowly. "But... It's not here, right Toothless?" The dragon immediately lifted his nostrils to the wind.

"Wait." Merida glanced at him. "Hiccup, something's not right."

"Why?" He asked, turning to her.

"The dragon knows we can find it... If this is where it lives, why would it show us? Why would it show us its home?"

"Because..." Hiccup didn't know what to say.

"It's a trap," Merida whispered in horror. "We fell right into its trap. and-"

Toothless roared, jumping back and staring at a spot in the trees. Everyone elses' dragons did the same, all staring at one spot in the tree.

"Run," Astrid whispered. And then, this time yelling, "RUN!"

Everyone jumped on their dragons as soon as they could, guiding them into the air and making their retreat. But before Toothless, the last of them, could leave the ground, a ball of flame shot out from the trees, skimming Merida's leg and part of Toothless's tail. It didn't bother his scales, but Merida let out a shriek of pain.

"Go, Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. "We need to go!"

He felt the pain in his head, the warning sign.

_'We told you to leave us alone.'_

Toothless began beating his wings powerfully.

_'But you didn't. And you've fallen into our trap.'_ Hiccup, dazed from the pain, realized that this dragon was female. Which mean they could breed.

Another fire ball shot out of the forest, missing the twins by inches.

_'And now your friends will die.'_

"You can't kill me!" Hiccup cried out, finally able to speak through the pain. "And I won't let you kill my friends."

They began to gain distance, and the dragon came into view. It looked the same as the other one, but slightly darker.

"Your aim sucks!" Snotlout yelled from his dragon. He swooped down over the dragon and poked out his tongue.

_'Stupid boy.'_ She hissed, gleefully taking in a deep breath to incinerate Snotlout.

But the dragon under estimated the Vikings' dragons' power, and in moments they were safely out of range.

"Hiccup!" Astrid called out, bringing her dragon closer. "Is your head okay?" Hiccup nodded, and then stiffened. Merida.

She was hiding her leg with the skirt of her dress, pulling the hem down over the wound. But Hiccup could see tears in her blue eyes, and that scared him.

"Merida?" He whispered. "Are you okay?"  
She stared at him, and then slowly shook her head. He watched as she lifted the skirt slightly, revealing blistery pink skin, surrounding an open burn that was chard and literally bubbling.

"Oh no," He gasped. "Merida, just.. Just hang on." He leaned over Toothless's neck, signalling the dragon to go his fastest. Merida had the sense to hold onto Hiccup, and they pair flew ahead of everyone so fast that they were out of view withing seconds.

"What happened?" Snotlout asked Merida, bringing his dragon to her.

"I think the fire hit her," she replied. "I didn't see it, but she was crying."

"Uh oh."

She just nodded.  
...

Toothless landed extra gently for Merida, and Hiccup shot him a silent thank you. He slid down first, and then looked up at Merida.

"Think you can walk?"

She nodded bravely and jumped down, but instantly collapsed as soon as she hit the dirt. Hiccup didn't think, just scooped her up princess stlye and ran to the castle.

"Get help!" He gasped out to a guard. The guard obeyed, running away and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Hiccup," Merida mumbled dazedly. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

"Your leg is showing me otherwise," Hiccup said, glancing once more at the mutilated flesh. He smelled, with a shudder, her burning flesh.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you," she said. He smiled gently and hugged her closer.

"Im sorry for kissing you. It probably wasn't the best move."

"Which time?" She said with a little laugh.

"Any of them." He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "I'm not good enough to be a suitor of yours."

"Hiccup-" She began worriedly. She was about to tell him that she liked the kisses, and that he was a better suitor for her than anyone. But she was interrupted by her mother and father, both running in with a trail of servants following in their wake.

"What happened?" Elinor gasped, rushing to her daughter. Fergus scooped her out of Hiccup's arms and briskly carried her to the castle infirmary. Hiccup followed and updated them on everything that had happened.

"Those dragons need to be stopped," Fergus growled. "They've ruined houses, killed people, and threatened to overthrow my country. This is the last straw."

Hiccup was so surprised at Fergus's angry words that he paused for a second. In a moment though, he was following again, glancing anxiously at Merida. She was beginning to pale, and beads of sweat popped out on her forehead. When they arrived at the infirmary, a middle-aged healer immediately directed them to a bed and began to work. In a few minutes she had dressed the burn and applied a special herbal cream.

"Is she..." Fergus couldn't finish the sentence. The healer, whose name was Allison, smiled brightly.

"She'll be fine. A scar, yes, but she'll be fine." Hiccup sighed in relief and looked at Merida, who was starting to wake up. Everyone waited with bated breath, wondering what she was going to say.

"Should we go kill it?"

Hiccup laughed. "You should probably rest that leg, Merida." Merida smiled up at him and touched his hand gently. Eleanor watched them, dread slowly talking over her heart.

"I need to talk to Merida," she said to everyone. "Alone."

Hiccup, Fergus, and Allison all left obediently, but glanced at each other in confusion. Eleanor didn't sound happy.

"What is it, mum?" Merida asked, sitting up against her pillow. Eleanor gently brushed a red curl away from her daughter's forhead and sighed.

"I've made a mistake, Mer."

Merida ignored the fact that her mother called her "Mer", and honed in on the mistake part. Eleanor never made mistakes.

"What happened?" She asked almost eagerly. Eleanor was quiet at first, unable to look at Merida's face. Instead, she walked to the infirmary window and gripped the window sill tightly, her eyes not even taking in the magnificent view.

"Not too long ago, I met with England's King. You know our ties with the English are mediocre."

Merida nodded, beginning to feel nervous.

"The King has a son. His name is Phillip. And, after one of my arguments with you, I... I..." Eleanor burst into tears and ran to Merida, clasping her hands tightly. "I gave them your hand in m-marriage."

Merida stared at her mother, shocked. Feelings bubbled up inside herm the initial one being anger. But then something else came. Understanding. They had to improve their relationship with England. It was bordering Scotland after all. What better way to do it than a marriage? And, Merida realized, her mother had not done it in spite. She had done it for Scotland.

Part of the reason she forgave her mother right there, though, was because she felt pity for her. Eleanor, the woman who was composed, beautiful, flawless, was on her knees in front of her daughter, begging for forgiveness.

"It's alright, mum." She said faintly. But she knew what this mean. She knew that she would have to completely cut everything she had with Hiccup.

What killed her, though, was how happy Astrid would be.


	15. Chapter 15

Merida waited for her mother to leave the room before she let herself slump back against the headboard of her infirmary bed. It was itchy and uncomfortable, only adding to her discomfort. She didn't know how to feel about the news. Obviously, she wasn't happy. She didn't want her mother to control who she married and spent the life began to grow sad, almost depressed, knowing what it meant for her and Hiccup. She had only know him for a few weeks, but she had already felt a connection with him that was definitely more than friendship.

Maybe, at the back of her mind, she thought that they would marry some day.

She nearly slapped herself for that thought. It had always been obvious that her marrying Hiccup was not allowed. he was a Viking boy, she was a Scottish princess. It was up to her to salvage whatever relationship Scotland had with England and turn it into something good.

That didn't stop the single tear that slipped down heer cheek.  
...

Hiccup returned to his room and sank down on his bed, exhausted. The day had overwhelmed him, especially Merida's injury. At least she was going to be okay.

He slipped off his boot, rubbing his foot (the existing one, obviously) and sighing. Outside, the day was growing darker, twilight beginning materialize.

What could Merida and Eleanor be talking about? He asked himself. He knew they weren't very close, and Eleanor had looked almost scared when she asked to talk to Merida alone. Something was definitely up. He decided to distract himself and went for a walk.

His mind wandered to Merida. He knew, without a doubt, that she had his heart. It was as simple as that. He hadn't felt like he did with Merida with any other girl, and he had only known her for 3 weeks or so. He began to wonder if marriage was a possibility in the distant future, or even just a relationship that was solid, not full of random kisses and confused stares. He wanted to know where he stood with Merida. He needed to have a serious talk with her, and hopefully, during that talk, he would reach down and find the courage to ask her on a real date.

As Hiccup was thinking, he had walked into a part of the castle he wasn't familiar with. He saw several family portraits on the walls, all by different artists wth different styles. Each one was magnificent, each one magnifying the beauty of the family.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout ran towards him, Fishlegs in tow. "We've been looking for you. How's Merida?"

"She'll be okay," Hiccup said. "Scarred, but okay."

Fishlegs breathed a sigh of relief, and opened his mouth to say something. He was interrupted by Astrid, who rounded the corner at that precise moment.

"Hey, guys," She said casually, not looking at Hiccup. He wondered, for a moment, if she was ashamed of her behaviour. Probably not, he decided.

"Hi, Astrid," Fishlegs greeted her. Snotlout immediately straightened, and then launched into a story about how he sent Merida two dozen flowers and confessed his love for her.

Hiccup tried not to laugh. Snotlout was still trying to make Astrid jealous. It wasn't working. She just stared at Hiccup, he could feel her gaze even when he looked away.

"What do you want?" He asked finally. Snotlout stopped talking and sighed, obviously miffed by the interruption.

Astrid shrugged. "Nothing. How's Reddy?"

It took Hiccup a second to realize that she was talking about Merida. "Fine," He said stiffly. "Is thatnickname supposed to be mean?"

Astrid smiled slightly. "Her hair is crazy, you have to admit."

"Well I like it," Hiccup said indignantly. He pushed past Astrid and then turned to stare at her. "She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, and ever had the pleasure to kiss." Knowing this would affect Astrid in particular, he turned and left. Snotlout nodded.

"I like her hair, too," He said softly. "And you're not yourself anymore. You're just, well, you're mean. I don't know where the old Astrid went, but I do know one thing." He paused. "I can't stand the new one."

And with that, he left, Fishlegs following behind and nodding. Astrid slumped to the ground, letting her face fall in her hands. What was happening to her? Why was she being so mean? She knew Hiccup couldn't stand her, she knew Snotlout didnt like her. And yet she still felt malicious to the red-headed princess.

Hiccup went straight back to his room and sat at his desk, beginning to sketch. His pencil scratched across the page, making lines and scribbles that morphed into the face of a certain princess. He added a nice little smile, a splash of freckles, and one single word at the top. Perfect. He was taking in his work when he heard a faint knock on his door.

"Come in," he said, shoving the sketch underneath some other pages.

"Hiccup?" A voice asked.

"Merida!" Hiccup gasped. "What are you doing here?"

She was leaning against his doorframe, a crutch under her arm. She looked very, very pale.

"I have to tell you something," She said somberly. He hurried over and helped her onto his bed, making her comfortable.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. "And why aren't you in the infirmary?"

"My mum told me something," She said, leaning back against the pillows. "And I thought I should tell you right away." She tried to ignore the tenderness and worry in his voice. It would only make it harder to tell him that they could never be a couple.

Hiccup nodded and sat next to her, taking her hand in his gently.

"I'm, well, I'm..." She felt her throat start to close, tears pushing at the corners of her eyes. "I'm betrothed."

It took Hiccup a moment to get what she said. "Betrothed?" He repeated.

Merida nodded, swallowing hard. "To an English prince. He's around my age. At least he's not like, 30 or something."

Hiccup just kept on nodding, trying to take it in. "Betrothed," he mumbled. 'To... Someone else."

Who else? She wanted to ask. Who else would I be betrothed to? But she knew the answer, and she kept her mouth shut.

"You have to?" Hiccup asked quietly, after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes." She took in a deep breath, unable to stop the tears now. "It's for the best, Hiccup, I-"

"The best?" He exploded. "What about us, Merida? What about those kisses?" He got up and faced her. "Don't tell me that it was nothing, because you know it wasn't, and isn't." He swiped a hand across his desk angrily, and then stormed out of the room. Merida sat in shock, not sure she believed what she had just seen. Hiccup was always so mellow, so laid back, controlled. The angry words that he had just shouted were so unlike him.

A piece of paper fluttered to her feet, pushed off the desk by Hiccup's angry hand. It was a picture of her, more radiant than she had ever been. Across the top, one word had been written in Hiccup's messy scrawl.

_Beautiful._

It was a while until Eleanor found her daughter, lying in a sobbing heap in the middle of Hiccup's bedroom, a tear stained portait of herself held tightly to her chest.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was flying on Toothless. What better way to calm down then go flying with his best friend? They flew fast and low, not paying attention to frightened animals or people. All Hiccup knew was that only the thrill of flying, having the breath ripped from his lungs, could calm him down. He flew almost back to his old home in the Scottish countryside before turning around, and then they flew softly and slowly, looping lazily through the night sky. He clung to Toothless's neck tightly, not crying, but very close.

"I dont know how I'm going to be able to look at her without breaking down, he said miserably to his dragon. "I dont know how someone could get to love another so much over such a short period of time."

Toothless let out a soft, comforting sound, trying to make his master feel better. There was nothing he could do, though, but carry Hiccup comfortably and without incident, which he did. They landed back in the castle yard around 2 in the morning, and Hiccup stumbled off to bed. He had a fitful sleep, full of confusing and frustrating dreams. The same with Merida, who ended up giving up on sleep and instead walked around the castle until dawn, when she finally fell into bed and promptly fell asleep.

"Hicccuuuuup!" Someone whispered. Hiccup cracked his eyes open, just enough to see Fishlegs leaning over him, before he closed them tight again. "Hiccup!" Fishlegs shouted. "Get up!"

"Why?" Hiccup croaked. "What's the point?"

"Um..." Fishlegs was obviously confused. "Because we have work to do? Like, for example, killing off a breed of dragons that are trying to take over Scotland?"

Hiccup sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Fine."

Fishlegs grinned and then grinned even wider. "And, well, I might've found something."

"What?" Hiccup asked, getting out of bed. He walked slowly over to his mirror, taking in his tired eyes, laden with hige purple bags.

"A weakness."

Hiccup paused. "A weakenss?"

"Yes!" Fishlegs began to talk excitedly and very fast, making his words so unintelligable that Hiccup had to shout at him to slow down. Fishlegs obeyed, and told Hiccup the whole story.

He had been up late researching old myths from different countries in Europe. He found several recipes that were supposed to help with invisibility. By taking different recipes, fitting them with others, taking things away and adding some in, he had found a recipe that made the dragons scale they had found invisible for 15 minutes.

"15?" Hiccup exclaimed. "That's amazing! I didn't think you were that smart."

"Gee, thanks," Fishlegs said sarcastically. But he was smiling. They had found a chink in the dragon's armour. A very big one.

Breakfast was strange. Astrid was sullen and silent, Hiccup was joking around much, much more than usual (which showed Merida how much he was trying to hide his feelings), and Merida was quiet, although she, too, tried to be happy sometimes. Eleanor watched the pair miserably, knowing she had ruined something wonderful.

"So, what do we do now?" Tuffnut finally asked, finsihing off his toast.

"What do you think?" Fishlegs said, a diabolical grin stretching across his face. "We test it."

...

A few miles away, in the forest, the same dragon that had almost killed Toothless flew through the undergrowth, his eyes set on the infamous Loch Ness, a body of water. He walked to the shore, and then dipped his head towards the water.

"Lord!" He growled in the univeral language of the dragons. "I am here, I am ready."

He stepped back nervously, waiting. It wasn't long before the water started rippiling, tall waves began crashing on the shore. A huge shape began to rise out of the water, and more, and more still. Finally, there was a dragon. He was slightly larger than the Red Death, the dragon Hiccup had killed back in Berk, but looked almost exactly the same. The only difference was, he was a pure, jet black colour. He regarded the smaller dragon menacingly, an enormous, throaty growl escaping his mouth.

"How is the boy?"

"He's fine," The small dragon growled. 'We are waiting, my Lord. On your word, we are ready."

"A little longer," He hissed. "Hiccup will soon be strong enough to fight me, and when I kill him, there will be nobody left to stop me."

The smaller dragon growled in response. "At your command, we are ready."

The large one nodded once, and then slid back into the water, receding into the mud at the bottom of Loch Ness.

**Yes, people, he is the Loch Ness Monster. Thought I'd add in a little bit of Scottish legend into this. Just kinda popped into my head, and I was like, hey, why not!**

**I love the attention this story is getting, just goes to show what an awesome fandom this is! I'm sorry for updating so late, I've been getting ready for school (starts tomorrow!)**

**Anyways, this story doesn't have long to go. Well, I'm actually not sure.**

**Review, fav, follow!**


	16. Chapter 16

For the next few days, the Vikings (and Merida) were idle. They had orders from Fergus to not venture out yet, as Merida's leg had not healed and there were no reports of attacks. Fishlegs hated this. All he wanted to do was get out of the "huge stone jail cell" and test his new potion on the dragons. But Fergus was sure of his decision, so instead, everyone stayed around the castle.

Stoick and Gobber often sayed up late, discussing the recent events. The huge Viking chief had noticed Hiccup's mood change, the way he moped around, often going to bed early and not talking much. Merida was similiar, but busy. Elinor was arranging a meeting between Merida and the English Prince, Phillip. Gobber suspected this had something to do with Hiccup's mood.

"Merida, though?" Stoick asked Gobber, raising an eyebrow. "You think Hiccup loves Merida?"

Gobber nodded vigorously. "Have you not seen those two? They're love-sick. And now Elinor has ruined everything."

Stoick sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Two days after Merida told Hiccup about the Prince, she was woken up very early by her mother.

"What is it, mum?" She asked sleepily. A quick glance out the window told her it was still extremely early, and she knew that they were not going to search for dragons that day.

"You've got to get ready," Elinor said, helping Merida out of bed and tugging her to the closet. She selected a pretty turquoise gown, one that brought out the fire in Merida's hair and the blue in her eyes.

"For what?" Merida asked, stepping into the down and pulling the soft, flowy material over her. Are we going somewhere?

"No, we're having visitors." Elinor clasped a gold necklace around Merida's neck and then told her to go to the kitchen table. "Get some breakfast. The king is coming."

"The king?"

"Of England." Elinor averted her eyes. "He's bringing Phillip."

Merida felt her jaw drop, especially when Elinor hurried away. She began to realize that her getting married was real, and it was going to happen. She was going to get married.

Deep breath, eyes closed, clenched fists. It's for the best, Merida told herself.

But was it?

She hurried down to breakfast, not saying anything to anybody about what she was wearing, although there were many questioning looks. As she was picking at a breakfast soup, Elinor walked in. Instantly, everyone, even Fergus, straightened and tried to look a little better. Elinor sighed and stood at the head of the table, clearing her throat.

"Today, we are having a special meeting. Not you Vikings, but Merida and Fergus and I." She glanced around the room. "We can't have anything go wrong. That means that everyone, especially you twins, need to be out of my sight until dinner."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut glared at her. "What's that s'posed to mean?" They asked in unison. Bread spilled out of Tuffnut's mouth, causing Ruffnut to snort with laughter and point at his mess. Her elbow caught on a mug and sent its contents, hot milk, spilling across the table, ending in a puddle on the floor. Elinor glared right back.

"Should we uh, just go out and patrol or something?" Hiccup asked. "Maybe look for the dragons?"

"No looking for the dragons," Elinor said sharply. "You're not doind that without Merida, as she knws the laws and rules around here. She will be busy. You may, however, patrol the edges of the kingdom. If a dragon _does_ come, send someone back here to me and try to ward it off without violence."

"How is that even possible?" Snotlout asked Astrid. She shrugged, staring at Hiccup, who was pale and had black rings under his eyes. He obviously knew what the meeting was about.

Everyone finished their breakfast, and the Vikings hurried off to theur dragons while Merida and Elinor waited in their private sitting room. Fergus hurried off, mumbling about some unfinished business.

"Merida, I'm so sorry," Elinor said quietly. "We'll see how this goes. It's just... We need good ties with England, and I..."

"I get it," Merida said sadly.

"I know you liked Hiccup."

Merida didn't respond to that.

It was a few minutes before a servant informed them that the Royal Carriage had started to come through the kingdom. At that, Elinor and Merida stood up and waited in the enormous entrance hall. Elinor reached over and squeezed Merida's hand once. Both were nervous.

What will he look like? Merida wondered. Will he be nice?

And then the two enormous oak doors swung open, a parade of servants and footmen and guards streaming in, all surrounding two people, two men. The King and his son, Prince Phillip.  
...

Astrid flew her dragon closer to Hiccup, carefully navigating around Snotlout.

"What's up?" She asked gently.

"If you're going to insult Merida or something stupid like that, don't even bother," he snapped. He clenched his jaw. "I've had enough."

"So have I," Snotlout called over. Astrid shot him a look and then sighed. "Sorry."  
Hiccup stayed silent.

They all seperated around the forest-bordered edges of the kingdom, so they were all fairly close.

Hiccup was on the far right side, with Fishlegs 100 or so feet to his left. They stayed on the ground for a few minutes, and then back to the air, and then back to the ground. After an hour, Fishlegs got extremely bored. He sneaked over to Hiccup.

"I can't take it," he hissed. "I'm getting out of here."

Hiccup stared at him. "Where are you going?"

"To test this!" He pulled out a little glass vial, bound to his writst with a leather strap. "It's more help than sitting around here, anyways."

"You can't go by yourself," Hiccup called after him. Fishlegs shrugged, causing Hiccup to sigh. He followed reluctantly, drawing the attention of everyone else. Where Hiccup went, they went. And so they followed Fishlegs, into the heart of the forest, looking for a victim to test their new visibility potion on.  
...

"Welcome," Elinor said graciously. The King, Edward, nodded just as graciously and introduced himself.

"I am King Edward," he said with a warmth-lacking smile. "And this is my son Phillip."

Elinor and Merida curtsied politely.

"I am Queen Elinor, and this is my daughter, Merida." Merida grinned wildly at them, and then realized that they were royalty, like her. She quickly stopped grinning, but nodded her head.

There was an awkward pause as everyone took each other in. King Edward was tall, very tall, and thin, draped with mountains of colourful robes. At his side, not quite as tall and not quite as thin, stood Phillip. He was a handsome boy, with wispy blond hair and large brown, gentle eyes. Merida guessed he was 19.

To the Edward, Merida was a very strange sight, to Phillip, refreshing. Thick, shiny red curls, curious blue eyes, a round, freckle-sprinckled face, and a slender figure.

"Please," Elinor said with a smile, "come join us for, er, tea."

Merida almost laughed. She knew tea was a big British tradition, but she, being a scot, barely ever had it. Edward nodded and walked next to her. They both hurried ahead, leaving Merida and Phillip taking each other in warily.

"Erm, nice to meet you," Merida said, not sure what else to say. Phillip smiled warmly, instantly putting Merida at ease.

"You, too. Nice place you have here."

Merida shrugged. "Eh. It's alright." She led him to the sitting room, and plopped down in an armchair. She ignored the angry look her mother shot her. She utterly refused to act anymore like a lady than she needed.

Phillip, being a perfect gentleman, sat down properly and smiled at Elinor, but didn't say anything. It seemed he was toungue tied.

"Rather cold, isn't it?" Edward muttered.

"Oh, uh, I'll send someone to make a fire in here," Elinor said nervously. She rung a silver bell, and then sat back. "I must have forgotten to instruct them."

Edward sighed haughtily and glanced around. Phillip sat, twiddling his thumbs. Elinor was obviously trying not to give Edward a piece of her mind for being so rude, not helping relieve the room of its awkward silence. And Merida sat, looking out the window, thinking about how it was going to be such a long day.  
...

"Toothless caught a scent!" Hiccup shouted. He allowed Toothless to lead them above a clearing in the forest, and then turned to Fishlegs. "Go ahead."  
"_I'm_ doing it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Duh!" Snotlout shouted. "Hurry up!"

Fishlegs nodded, squared his shoulders, and sent his Gronkle into a clumsy, twirly nose dive. He swooped over the clearing, knowing there was a dragon below him somewhere. He held the vial over the clearing, and then circled it, letting drops fall.

The effect was almost instant. Bit by bit, the purply dragon materialized, and then glanced around at the Vikings. It had been asleep. It didnt seem to understand that they could see it.

Snotlout gripped his dragon nervously. "This is terrifying," He mumbled.

"You got that right," Hiccup said.

The dragon, finally realizing that it was, in fact, visible, roared in outrage and started beating its wings.

"_RUN_!" Fishlegs bellowed. "I mean... _FLY_!"

Everyone obeyed. "Split up!" Hiccup called. They all broke off, everyone going a different direction. Hiccup rose above, watching where everyone was going. The dragon ended up choosing Snotlout to go for, and began zooming towards the terrified boy. He leaned over his Nightmare and let him go his fastest, but the bad dragon was the same speed, if not faster. It began to gain. Hiccup sighed, cursing Fishlegs, and then whispered one word to Toothless.

"Go."  
...

After an awkward tea, Merida took Phillip for a tour of the grounds.

This is Angus," she said, gesturing to the enormous horse.

Phillip smiled up at the big animal and pet him on the nose. "Hi there, Angus," he murmured softly.

"Well, you're nice to him," Merida said with a sigh. "I'm glad my future husband is like that."

Phillip cringed, and then apologized for doing so. "It's just... I didn't want this to happen."

"Me neither!" Merida exclaimed. "I mean, there's a boy here I... Well, you know-"

"I know," Phillip said. "I have a girl back in England. I would have married her if it weren't for, well, you know." He gestured wildly. "_This._"

"Maybe we could convince our parents otherwise," Merida suggested hopefully. "Like-"

"Merida!" Elinore shouted. She walked toward her with Edward at her side. He glanced around the meadow where the dragons had stayed disdainfully. "We've come to join you for a walk."

Merida and Phillip met them, and they all stopped in the middle of the meadow.

"We were just-"

Phillip was interupted by a loud roar.

"What in God's name-" Edward said. They all glanced up. A black shape shot out of a cloud, followed by a large purple one, followed by 5 others, all different colours.

"Hiccup?" Merida asked. "What is he doing?"

A smaller dragon, the one Merida recognized as Fishleg's, cut the purple dragon off, leading them straight towards where they were standing.

"Duck!" Phillip bellowed. He pulled Merida to the ground. Elinor muttered a few words about how Vikings could not be trusted before drop[ing to the grass. The dragons flew over them, the breeze lifting Merida's curls.

Suddenly, the purple dragon dropped out of the sky, landed on the grass, and slid for 30 or so feet, before coming to a stop, fast asleep. Hiccup and Toothless, who had not been able to control themselves after the chase, bumped to a stop quite close to Merida and the others. Hiccup, extremely dizzy, promptly fell off and rolled, ending up right next to Phillip.

The two boys stared at each other for a minute, before Hiccup seemed to realize where he was. He jumped up and instantly saw Elinor, who was red with anger.

"I'm so dead," He muttered.

It got worse. The twins, who were sharing their dragon, landed next to Toothless. Unfortunately, the tail of their dragonhit Edward, and then knocked him (not too hard) to the ground. Phillip watched as the rest of the dragons all landed, Snotlout with a few words that were not considered gentlemanly at all, Astrid with uncontrollable laughter, and Fishlegs with his glass vial, which still held some potion. He was laughing gleefully and staring at the liquid inside.

"It worked!" He yelled. He began to dance around, laughing and whooping. Finally, Snotlout stopped him, and then gestured at the King, who was glaring at them all with such rage that even Astrid cowered slightly.

They all knew they were in trouble.


	17. Chapter 17

The Viking teenagers had never been so terrified in their lives. They had battled enormous reptilian beasts, lived with the harshest and scariest of people, and flown through the air at horrific speeds, and yet the pretty young queen in front of them made them want to run away and never return.

Elinor was pacing in front of them. They had all been ushered into one of her sitting rooms while Merida and Phillip continued socializing. Edward was in bed, although it was hardly 2:00 PM, complaining of a weak heart. Fergus, after seeing the blazing anger in Elinor's eyes, had muttered something about "King business" and walked very briskly away.

"What," Elinor snapped, "did you thing you were doing?" She threw a glare at Fishlegs, who was still almost smiling at his small victory. "I was having an extremely important meeting-one that could change the future of this country-and you might have ruined it!"

Hiccup ducked his head, but still managed to shoot a glare at Fishlegs. This was, after all, his fault. Fishlegs, ignoring Hiccup's glare, cleared his throat.

"I know that it was an important meeting, and I'm sorry," he began. "But, this potion not only kept the dragon visible for 15 minutues, but also put it to sleep for 3 minutes. Was that not worth the time? We were even able to chain the dragon up before it could get away."

Elinor whirled around, her hair slicing through the air. "Excuse me?" She stepped towards him. "Do you know what that meeting was about?"

"The future of Scotland," Fishlegs replied calmly.

"And the future of Merida!" Elinor shouted. "I am trying to get her married to Phillip, and if he hadn't found that whole incident amusing, they would be on their way back to England by now."

Astrid cleared her throat. "I'd like to apoligize on Fishlegs' behalf," she said quietly, clamping her hand over his mouth. "It seems that he is blinded by his happiness."

Elinor sighed and sat down on a chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Just... Leave, all of you. I don't want to see any of you until dinner."

Everyone nodded and shuffled out of the room.

"Oh, Hiccup," Elinor called. He stopped and turned to face her slowly, quietly dreading whatever reprimand she was sure to give him. To his surprise, she smiled softly.

"I'd like to apoligize," she said. Hiccup stared at her, not sure what to say. "I know that you and Merida are close, and I also know that her meeting with Phillip is hard for you. Thank you for being so gentlemanly about it." She stood up and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You are going to be an incredible man some day. I don't think you realize exactly what you can do."

She left soundlessly, gliding along that carpet. Hiccup stayed where he was, not able to speak. Praise like that was worth a lot, especially from a queen.  
...

Merida and Phillip watched Elinor lead the line of Vikings back to the castle. She could tell that her mother was extremely angry. It worried her. Several servants were helping Edward to his feet and away. He was shouting abuse at them and the Vikings, as well as complaing about "this God-awful country".

"I'm sorry about all that," Merida said, glancing at Phillip. He smiled, still watching the Vikings.

"That was great," he said. "I can't believe the rumours are true. There are really dragons." He turned his face up against the sun's light, drinking in its warmth. "Was he there?"

"Who?" Merida asked, sitting down on the grass and pulling at a few blades of grass.

"The boy you love."

Merida smiled at his wording. "Yes, he was there. In fact, I think you two made eye contact for a few seconds there."

"The one who fell next to me?" Phillip laughed outright. "I'm just glad he wasn't the crazy one jumping around and holding that bottle."

"That was Fishlegs," Merida said, mentally slapping the viking boy. "He's a bit of an idiot sometimes."

Phillip shrugged. "Who isn't?" He gazed at the walls of the castle rising up in front of them. "Do you think we could stop this?"

"Our marriage?" The words tasted foul in Merida's mouth. "No offense, but I really hope so."

"I guess I'll just have to keep begging my dad. And you your mum."

Merida nodded and turned away, trying to hide her tears. Married at 18, she'd be.  
...

Dinner was an awkward affair. Edward had been persuaded to get out of bed, but he was sullen and snappish. He sat down grumpily, glaring at anyone and everyone. Elinor was still incredibly angry at the Vikings and the events of the afternoon. Hiccup and Merida were both trying not to focus on each other, and yet they couldn't keep their thoughts away from the other. With the other teens still scared from Elinor's scolding and Fergus's timid attempts at conversation, it was up to Stoick and Gobber to fill the silence in the room. They tried talking about the weather, the evacuation processes, even Berk. Nothing stuck.

It wasn't until Stoick said that they should get back to dragon hunting when someone finally responded.

"I agree," said Hiccup. "Who knows when they'll attack? It could be any day, and we're no closer to figuring out where their leader is."

"I suppose," Elinor admitted, "That you'll make it without Merida."

Fishlegs nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes. We have this potion now. We may as well scout out the hiding place of the big guy, anyways. See what we can find."

"Its settled then," Gobber said with his signature grin. "You guys'll finally be able to get out of this-" He glanced at Elinor. "-Beautiful, wonderful castle."

She smiled.

"I wish I could go," Phillip said wistfully.

Hiccup looked at him. "Maybe you could."

Merida's head snapped up and focused on Hiccup.

"Not happening," Edward snapped. "I will not have my son spend any time with you barbarians."

Phillip hung his head, but Elinor very nearly exploded. "Excuse me," she said icily. "But these barbarians are trying their best to save Scotland, which could very well save England. You had better be a little more grateful to them, or we may just have a problem." She wiped her mouth delicately and ignored Fergus's appreciative smirk.

"You could always come out and see Toothless," Hiccup suggested.

"Sure," Phillip agreed. "That'd be neat."

The tension was finally broken, and things went back to normal as possible. Tuffnut cracked a rather rude joke, Elinor snapped at him. Ruffnut laughed at Tuffnut, Fishlegs blabbed on about his experiments, and Astrid and Snotlout began to talk to each other like they used to, before Snotlout ever called her out for being mean.

It was only Merida and Hiccup that were not taking part in the conversations around the table. They ate slowly and silently, and both excused themselves to leave early. Hiccup went to his room and began to sketch, Merida went to visit Angus. However, Hiccup couldn't seem to concentrate on his sketches, so he took his book and pencils outside, ready for a night time walk and perhaps some escape from his inner turmoil. He decided to visit Toothless. First, though, he wanted to visit Angus. Whenever he saw the big horse he was awestruck and inspired, to some degree, Maybe he would even draw the horse.

He didn't expect Merida to be there.

He didn't notice her at first. He walked up to Angus's stall and laid a hand on his velevty nose.

"Hey, boy," he said gently. "I think I'll draw you, if that's okay."

"Hiccup?" Hiccup whirled around to see Merida standing there, holding en enormous pail of water. She set it down and stared at him, obviously surprised and terrified to see him standing there. "W-What are you doing here?"

Hiccup's mouth went dry as he saw Merida, her prettiness, the strong, noble air around her buzzing.

"Just, uh, drawing." He stepped back, bumping his head against a halter that was hanging on a nail. "Angus."

Merida walked over to Angus's door, brushing against Hiccup as she did so, and opened it. He watched as she stepped into Angus's stall, planted a kiss on his nose, and poured the water into a large barrel.

"There you are, Angus," She said softly.

"Look, I should go," Hiccup said. He knew that if he stayed any longer, he would blurt a lot of romancey stuff out.

"Wait," Merida said. "Please, I just, I need to apologize."

"For what?" Hiccup asked, remembing the anger he had felt. "For saying that you getting married off to another guy is for the best?"

She paled. "Yes."

Hiccup sat down on a stool, letting his head fall in his hands. Here came the romancey stuff. "I cant do this," he whispered. "I've been trying to be normal ever since you told me you're betrothed, but I can't. I don't know how it happened, but somewhere along the way, I think I fell in loev with you." He looked up at her, his green eyes wild. "How does that happen? How can someone fall so deeply in love with a person after knowing them just for a few weeks? Am I insane?" He stood up and began pacing. "Look, I just... I'm going to take care of this dragon problem, and then leave. I can't see you married of to some-" his voice cracked. "Some other guy."

Merida stood, her mouth wide open. "Hiccup, I-"

He shook his head. "I'm not usually like this," he said, half sheepishly, half very, very sadly. "I've been so emotional lately."

"I don't want to get married," Merida said. "I mean, I do, but I want to choose who."

"Then tell your mum!" Hiccup begged. "Please, you told me once to change my fate, so why don't you?"

Merida turned away. "It's for Scotland," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, Hiccup, but unless she changes her mind, this is happening."

Hiccup walked up to her, raised his hand, and touched her cheek ever so gently. Just for a second, when he looked in her eyes, they saw each other before this had happened, they saw each other waiting for the future eagerly, their future together. It was broken by a single tear falling from Merida's eye. In a few moments, Hiccup was gone, and she was left alone, in the stable with Angus.

She really, really felt like she should dislike her mother right now.  
...

Astrid walked through the halls, searching for something to do. It was only 9:00 PM, but Ruffnut was asleep, and Astrid didn't feel like staying in the room with the snoring girl. She turned a corner and ran right into Snotlout.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

He smiled and leaned against the wall. "Ruffnut snoring?" She nodded. "Same with my roomies. Tuffnut's actually quieter than Fishlegs, though."

Astrid smiled, but couldn't seem to keep it on her face.

"Look, I'm sorry for being suck a jerk these past few days." She sighed and fiddled with her hair. " I was being mean to Merida, and Hiccup, and you. I don't know what was happening. Maybe I did still love Hiccup, maybe not."

Snotlout looked visibly taken back."Did still love him?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "You don't anymore?"

She shook her head. "I think I've figured out who I should really love. I-I'm so sorry, Snotlout. I've been so horrible to you all these years. You've been there for me all this time, and-" She stood on tiptoe, pulled Snotlout forward, and kissed him. He stayed still for a moment, not sure what to do, and then responded eagerly. She smiled against his mouth, listening to his whispered words.

"I've always loved you."

**I am so sorry I haven't updated recently. I started school but that's no excuse. Here's the deal. I'll try to update every Thursday, or Friday. I have tests and projects and stupid school things, but I can do it!**  
**I hope you like this chapter. Added in some extra special things just because I'm really sorry :)**


	18. Chapter 18

All the Vikings were ready to go, besides Stoick and Gobber. Stoick laid a hand on Hiccup's shoulder as he was saddling Toothless up, and spun him around. Hiccup squinted into the sun, giving Stoick a glimplse of the clumsy boy Hiccup used to be.

"Dad?" He asked, his expression quickly turning cold as he remembered his status with the chief.

"What do you want?"

"I want to apologize," Stoick said. "It's the Vikings' custom to never be on bad terms with somebody going off to battle. And I agree."

Hiccup stared at him. "You're apologizing." A statement of disbelief, not a question.

Stoick looked uncomfortable, and sheepish, and not at all used to asking for forgiveness. "Yes. I, well, I know I did you many wrongs, son."

Hiccup nodded once, shooting his father a flash of his crooked grin. "Okay." He then turned around and hopped easily onto the dragon's back. Stoick watched as Hiccup glanced over at Merida, who was watching from afar with Phillip at her side. He frowned as Hiccup's shoulders sagged in sadness, his eyes going wistful for just a second, before leaning over and checking his stirrups.

Stoick knew something had to be done.

Merida watched Hiccup and the other Vikings get ready to go. As if on cue, her leg ached, making her nearly scream in frustration. She NEEDED to go with them, the curiosity in her blood was nearly forcing her to take Angus and run after them. But Phillip kept her grounded, especially with his excited comments.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said, almost laughing. "There are really _dragons_ in front of me, and real live Vikings."

Merida grinned half-heartedly. "You get used to it, I suppose."

"Hey, Phillip!" Hiccup shouted suddenly. Phillip glanced over at the boy, who was perched on the biggest and most powerful of the dragons. "Come on over!"

Phillip laughed in agreement."Be right back," he called over his shoulder to Merida. She watched as he jogged over to Hiccup, who began talking to him and gesturing to different parts of his gear and Toothless. Phillip listened intently, thouroughly enjoying every second of his mini lesson.

But Merida was confused.

Why would Hiccup befriend the boy who was to marry her?_Because he's good_, she told herself_. He has a good, sincere heart._

Gobber, who had been helping Astid gear up, cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Alright, kids!" He bellowed. "Follow Hiccup." He laughed. "Never thought I'd say that. Anyways, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you can't fight. If you do, whisper. Snotlout, no showing off, Fishlegs, don't go crazy or anything, and Astrid make sure your big proud head doesn't get in the way of safety."  
Every single person he addressed glared at him, but he just waved them off. "You are going to be scouting out the big guy's little cave, or hole, or whatever. If you find it, report straight back here. Do not try to get a glimpse of him, do not try to kill him. Just come straight back." He looked at them all gravely. "If he wakes up, or she, I guess, lose him. Run. He'll probably be big, but he won't be as fast as you. If it comes down to it, Hiccup will give you instructions."

Hiccup automatically straightened his back, trying to look as knowledgable and powerful as he could.

Merida's leg ached again.

"Off you go!" Fergus yelled. "Go save Scotland!"

The Vikings all let their dragons' wings catch the wind, soaring higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds. Stoick watched, and then walked straght to Fergus.

"You've been training soldiers on how to kill the dragons?"

Fergus nodded. "Fishlegs and Gobber have been overseeing the training. We only have 50 who are 80% of the population is out of Scotland, and some others who refuse to leave."

Stoick shook his head. "What are they thinking?"

Fergus lifted his head. "We're proud people." But he was still worried about how there were still denfenseless families somewhere in his country. Not only that, but he couldn't believe only 50 men and women were willing to fight the dragons.

"Phillip!" A sharp voice called. Edwards' tone, his presence, made Merida's hair rise. She turned and watched as he strode purposely over to the boy, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and started to walk him back to the castle. Phillip, who was both taller and stronger, did not use his assets to his advantage and followed along obediently. Stoick shook his head.

"I need to talk to your wife," he said to Fergus. "I think you could find a much better suitor for your daughter."  
Fergus glanced at the cloud that the dragons had disappeared into. "I think you're right."  
...

Hiccup led the way, squinting his eyes in an effort to protect them from the cold air currents. He watched as Toothless's nostrils flared, searching for a scent.

"We need to get down lower!" He bellowed. He knew it was a risk to be seen by the dragons, but they were still up in the cloud cover, a place where it would be nearly impossible for any of the dragons to catch a scent. They all dropped a few hundred feet, until Ruffnut and Tuffnut started yelling.

"We've caught a scent! We've caught a scent!' At the same time, Toothless swung his head to his immediate right. In unison, the Vikings turned, following Hiccup as he led them over the forests and hills below, watching anxiously for anything that moved.

Snotlout and Astrid were at the back. He watched as Astrid peered down at the ground below, scanning the ground eagerly. He was still wondering how he had ever managed to even get a kiss from her. She used to say she would never touch him with a ten-foot pole, and now she was suddenly professing his love to him?

He wasn't complaining, though.

"See anything?" He asked, in an attempt at conversation.

"Nope," she replied tiredly. "Think we're gonna find anything?" She straightened, the wind whipping her blond hair around her face. She expertly pulled it back and re-braided it, somehow staying on her dragon.

Snotlout shrugged, watching her fingers move through her hair. "Maybe. Toothless is pretty amazing."

"That he is," Astrid smiled. She remembered the first flight she had on Toothless. Hiccup had dumped her on the top of a tree, where she was at a dizzying height. Yet when she had apologized, and Toothless levelled and slowed down, it was the most beautiful experience of her life.

"Hey!" Tuffnut yelled. "Lover boy! And lover girl...?" He glanced at Astrid questioningly, causing her to redden. "Keep on watching the ground."

"Yes sir," Snotlout said sarcastically, once again watching the scenery below.  
...

Merida walked back to the castle, finally alone, and savouring every minute. It had been such a busy few weeks, almost a few months. Too stressful. She brushed back a few of her curls, and then turned around to get a view of the stable yard with the mid-day light illuminating it beautifully.  
She didn't expect to see the crowd there.

They stood, all with battle axes and swords and clubs, all in their clan's kilts. She watched as they all, as one, got onto one knee, bowed their heads, and showed their weapons. There must have been 150 of them at the very least

Phillip was sitting with Elinor and Fergus, having lunch. His father was once again in bed, complaining of a weak heart. There was suddenly a bang as the door flew open, revealing a breathless, flushed Merida, her eyes alight.

"There's help!" She shouted, laughing. "There's people here to help!"  
...

Toothless suddenly growled. Hiccup send him into a nosedive, and they glided to the ground fast and smooth.

"What are we doing?" Fishlegs asked.

"I think the dragon is around here," Hiccup explained. "I'm not quite too sure where. I just want to find the general area. Then we can scout it out until there's movement. They have to attack soon."

"Why do they have to attack first?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup looked confused. "I actually don't kn-"

He was interrupted by a few different growls. All of the dragons were staring at one point, baring their teeth like wild dogs. Hiccup followed their gaze to a huge stretch of water. Loch Ness.  
Snotlout, who had been watching the water intently, suddeny went white.

"I dont think we have to wait long," he said slowly, lifting a shaking arm to point at a ripple, which slowly started to grow into waves.

"On your dragons," Hiccup muttered. "Now!" Everyone agreed, hopping on quick and fast, waiting for instruction. "Go, go!" Hiccup bellowed. They all flew straight up, but it was too late. The dragon had sensed them before they even landed on the ground in the first place. Before they were blinded by the white mist of the clouds, they got a glimpse of the enormous dragon below.

Black scales, bigger than the Red Death, yellow eyes focused.

Right. On. Them.

"GO!" Astrid screamed.

They went.  
...

Merida was outside with Fergus, helping give instructions and tips on how to kill the dragons. Bottles of Fishlegs' potion were being handed out. Phillip, who was helping, cocked his head and glanced at her worriedly.

"Did you hear that?" He asked, scanning the sky. "There it is again. You hear it?"

She did. It sounded like.. Screams? Shouts?

They finally morphed into words. Run.  
Six dragons shot out of the clouds, heading straight for the ground. All of the Vikings were screaming two words: It's coming.

Fergus glanced around at the soldiers, Phillip, and Merida, who was for once quite speechless.

"You heard them!" He bellowed. "Get inside! All of you!" He watched as everyone stampeded towards the doors except himself, Merida, and Phillip.

Merida, finally coming to her senses, blinked. She saw Toothless circle back, and shoot into the clouds again.

Hiccup had seen the dragon rise out of Loch Ness, and he had seen it start to fly. They were almost at the castle when he realized that he was leading it straight to where they were trying to protect. In one moment of extreme sacrifice, he turned around, ready to use himself as bait in an attempt to delay that attack, as the others landed their dragons and hurried inside.

It was never needed. He was just in time to see the dragon fall back in Loch Ness. One of its wings were not strong enough, yet. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowed Toothless down, giving him a break.

"We made it,"" he whispered. He leaned over Toothless's neck,trying to re-stock his body with the oxygen that had been ripped out of his body in the intense speeds that he had just experienced. Toothless carried him faithfully back to the castle, where Hiccup was able to pick out a head of fiery hair, an enormous man, and a boy. Merida, Fergus, and Phillip. He waved, trying to let them know that everything was ok, but it was evident that Hiccup himself was not when he tried to dismount Toothless and promptly fell flat on his face.

Fergus rushed over to him, Merida following with Phillip. Hiccup smiled at them shakily, and tried to stand. His legs simply would not hold him.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked Fergus, wondering why his legs, even his half metal one, would not support his weight.

"Must be shock," Fergus said, brow furrowing. He held out his arms. "I'll carry you. Princess style."

"No way," Hiccup refused flatly. "I think I'll just wait until my muscles aren't noodles."

Fergus smiled and pat Hiccup on the shoulder. "We're glad you're okay. Where's the Big Guy?"

"He fell," Hiccup said, his voice wavering as he remembered the enormous form falling back into Loch Ness. "His wing gave out. My guess is he isn't quite ready to attack. In fact the only reason he even tried was probably just to scare us off, away from Loch Ness.

"Wait, wait," Phillip broke in. "How big are we talking? Bigger than Toothless?"

Hiccup stared at him. "This dragon is probably the same size, if not bigger than, this castle."  
Phillip and Merida and Fergus all glanced up at the towering walls of stone, the tall turrets.

Merida went pale. "Uh oh."

Hiccup staggered to his feet, still shaking. "How many soldiers do we have?"

"Around 200," Fergus said. Hiccup nodded.

"We have a chance." He strode towards the castle, the last bit of shakiness melting away and revealing his normal, slighlty clumsy, stride. "I need to go talk to the others."

And talk he did. After they all got over their nerves and shock, a meeting was held. Scouts would be sent out in shifts, watching Loch Ness. While they did that, the troops would be trained and given tips and instructions on how to fight the dragons. A plan would be formed, involving the Vikings and their dragons. The meeting lasted several hours. Hiccup found himself getting restless, and often took breaks to go for walks, nap, or eat. On one of his walks, he walked into Merida and Phillip, who were sitting in the hallway on one of the thick, furry bear furs stretched before a large fireplace.  
"Oh, uh," He cleared his throat and backed towards the door. "I was just, uh, walking."

Phillip stood up, looking completely casual. "Why don't you stay?" He asked Hiccup, smiling. "We were just talking about the dragons."

Hiccup's shoulders loosened a bit, and he smiled back at the boy. "Sure. You want to know anything else?"

Phillip nodded. "Yes, but not right now. You said you'd stay, so do. With Merida. You two need to talk." He walked out of the room, shooting a mischevious glance at Merida. Hiccup stared at her angrily.

"You TOLD him?"

"Well, duh," she said defensively. "Neither of us want to get married to each other, you realize. I had to tell him _something_."

Hiccup sighed and plopped into an armchair. "Okay." He watched as Merida stretched out onto the rug. Their relationship was no longer full of tension, but it was still akward.

"I thought you were going to die today," Merida finally said. "When you flew back into the cloud."

"Well, I didn't," Hiccup yawned, staring into the flames. "I was completely fine."

"But you were prepared to die," she insisted. "For Scotland. For the people."

"For you," Hiccup mumbled. She stared at him.

"You'd die for me?"

He nodded, not even hesitating. "Of course."

She burst into tears.

Not only was this so out of character for Merida, but it made Hiccup uncomfortable and immediately obligated to comfort her.

"Hey, hey," he said awkwardly, walking over to her and kneeling down. "I'm sorry if I said anyth-"

"I don't want you to die," she wailed. "What if you die?"

Hiccup thought of something. "Now, look, we already had the PMS conversation..."

She swatted him. "Stop it! I'm just so stressed. It's only natural that I cry." She sat up, and that's when they both noticed Hiccup's hands clasping her own tightly.

He stood up hurriedly, not looking at her. "I should get back."

She nodded, her eyes following him as he walked away. He looked over his shoulder, his green eyes meeting hers. It scared her, seeing what they were full of.

Pain.

**Okay guys. I uploaded before my new uploading date, and I wrote a lot more than usual. **

**This is for a few reasons**

**1. I wanted to avoid homework.**  
**2. I was in a writing mood.**  
**3. I had really good music to listen to while I did it.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy. This story has a few chapters left, two maybe three. I might do an epilogue, if you want it. Start feeding me story ideas if you have any. I want to start writing a new story right after this, so PM me if you have any ideas! I'll give you credit, of course :D**


	19. Chapter 19

The next day was rainy, cold, and windy. Everyone in the castle was fortunate to be able to sit down next to a warm fire. The troops outside though, and the Vikings that were scouting and waiting to raise the alarm for the inevitable dragon attack, were freezing. Halfway through breakfast, Astrid and Tuffnut stumbled in, blowing on their hands and dripping droplets of rainwater onto the floor. Snotlout and Ruffnut stood up reluctantly and left, their shift starting.

"No sign?" Hiccup asked Astrid as she sat down. She accepted a warm, bear-skin blanket from a servant and wrapped it around her shaking shoulders.

"Everything's quiet." She swallowed some tea and leaned back against her chair, blowing out slowly. "The stupid lizards will be here anytime, though."

Merida walked in then. She had been outside, too, looking at the rows of soldiers' tents. A few more people had flooded in through the night, a few had left. They now had around 250 people, give or take. Not a lot considering that they were fighting an army of enormous invisible dragons. To make it worse, Fishlegs had only been able to make a tiny bit of potion, enough for 50 people. Some wouldn't even work. He kept on groaing about it, despite everybody continuously telling him that it wasn't his fault.  
"

Hey dad," Merida said, pulling the hood of her cloak down and letting her curls escape. A few raindrops clung to her eyelashes. Hiccup remembered what had happened last night and looked away.

At least they were on better terms. As in, she would acknowledge him.

Phillip walked in, pale and shaking slightly. "I'm a bit nervous," he explained to everyone. The only people at the table were Hiccup, Astrid, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Fergus, Phillip, and Merida. Elinor was talking to Stoick and Gobber, while everybody else was either scouting or sleeping.

"Merida," Fergus said, nodding. He looked at what she was wearing. Deer skin leggings, a thick, wooly vest, and a cloak on top. "Ready for batt;e, I see.

"Mhmm." She sat down next to Hiccup and picked up a soft, fluffy muffin. "Can't have my dress blowing up and revealing everything, right?'

Fergus chuckled and finished off his ham.

"I'm going to go for a walk," Hiccup announced. "I need to think about all of this."

Gobber walked in right then. "Pre-battle jitters?"

Hicucp nodded and managed a shaky smile. "This is worse than the Red Death."

Gobber chuckled. "We're all feelin' it, Hiccup. But go for a walk. Should clear your mind up a bit."  
Hiccup nodded and left, Merida following a few seconds later.

"Hiccup?" She asked timidly, when they had left the dining room. "You okay?"

He stopped walking, but didn't face her. "Yeah, just, you know."

"Butterflies," she sighed knowingly. "I have those, too."

He nodded, still not turning around. "I-"

"Hiccup?" Elinor said, walking out after them. "I need to talk to you and Merida. Are you ready to go? You need to be prepared to go at any second."

They both nodded and followed her into a seperate room. Hiccup knew they were about to be told something important. His mind flashed again to the night before, his hands gripping hers so tightly before turning away quickly, face flushing red and his eyes full of pain.

"Sit," Elinor directedm not unkindly. She gestured towards to armchairs. Merida glanced at Hiccup, a look that clearly said. _are we in trouble?_

Hiccup just shrugged, wondering the same thing himself. Stoick and Fergus appeared, both looking happy.

"Good," Fergus said, looking at them. "We're all here."

'What's going on?" Merida asked, bewildered. She leaned forward nervously, eyes flitting to everybody in the room. "Are we in trouble? Did we do something?

"No, no," Stoick said, his chest rumbling with a laugh. "You're fine. Everything's fine."

"Then what's wrong?" Hiccup asked, almost annoyed. "I was trying to get less nervous, not worry about you guys yelling at us or something."

"We're not going to yell at you," Elinor reassured. "We just have some news."

She sat down, primly smoothing out her skirt. "Hiccup, your father and I had a discussion last night, concerning your future." She looked at Merida. "And my daughter's."

Hiccup nodded. "And? Is Phillip having second thoughts or something?" He grinned. Merida glared at him before sighing and leaning back, finally convinced that they were not in trouble. It was very possible if Hiccup was around.

"No," Fergus said. "We said it's about you, remember? We've decided that maybe Phillip isn't the best match for Merida." Merida, a little more in tune with her father, realized what he was going to say before the words left his lips. "And that, perhaps, you would better suit her."

Hiccup stared at them, the words not quite hitting him. "Wha-" Realization dawned in his eyes. "Oh."

It was quiet for a moment, before Elinor ushered the two men out of the study, leaving Hiccup and Merida alone.

"H-Hiccup?" Merida whispered. "Did they really just say that?" She stood up slowly. "We..."

Hiccup looked up at her, a smile spreading across her face. "I can't bel-"

"Hiccup!" Someone shrieked. "Merida!" The dragons, they're coming!" A bell began to ring, it's tolls echoing around the castle and filling Hiccup's ears. He clutched at them, glancing at Merida. Her face went pale, the white outlining her freckles.

"They're coming," she whispered. Hiccup grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and then dragged her out of the room, leading both of them down a set of stairs, through a few hallways, and out into the courtyard where all the dragons were already saddled up.

"I need to go get Angus!" Merida shouted. Hiccup leaned towards her, trying to plant a kiss on her cheek, but a soldier knocked him away, not thinking about where his huge meaty arm was going as he rushed by, and they didnt have time to try again.

Hiccup hopped up on Toothless, checking his pockets for the vial of potion. Around him, the Vikings were doing the same, all looking pale and nervous. Snotlout and Ruffnut circled above. They had raised the alarm. A harsh wind ripped through everyone's clothes, rain smaking against them, half ice, half liquid. Stoick raised out into the courtyard, wielding an enormous hammer, not unlike the God, Thor.

A few soldiers, four men and a woman, rushed through the yard, and then all dived to the side, making way for an enormous horse, a small girl perched on top.

"Merida!" Fergus bellowed. "Don't you dare go out th-"

A huge BOOM riipped through the air, as if the air molecules themselves were being ripped apart. A large mushroom of fire and smoke rose in the distance, about ten trees collapsing at once.

"They're showin' off for us!" Gobber yelled. "Don't let it intimidate you! That's what they're tryin' to do."

"How can it not?" Fishlegs grumbled. He urged his Gronkle into the air, everybody else following. Hiccup did the same, rising above the rest and looking out into the castleyard, where the soldiers were lined up, Stoick and Fergus walking down the line and shouting instructions. Dogs barked, horses whinnied nervously, a clap of thunder rolled over the kingdom. Another mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

"Let's go!" Hiccup yelled, leaning over Toothless. The other dragons flew on either side of him, everyone ready.

The first dragon appeared. It was large, bigger than Toothless, the same purpley gold look about it. Hiccup, with a feeling of dread, heard five simple words whispered into his mind.  
_'You are going to die.'_

The head ache pounded with his heart beat.

He gritted his teeth.

A few more dragons appeared out of the forest, diving at the soldiers below. He saw one grab a man in its mouth, flying him up to his death.

Hiccup took out the potion and swooped high, right into the clouds. He could barely see anything through the swirling mist, but for a moment, everything was quiet. The thunder stopped, the wind died down, the screams of the battle below quieted. Hiccup realized that he was caught up in the moment.  
And then he saw it.

A dragon, coming straight at him.  
"Come on, bud!" He yelled. "Let's get this thing!" Toothless responded eagerly, taking his owner above the dragon and circling above it. Hiccup yelled happily and dive bombed the dragon, a dagger out and ready. The dragon, though, was not stupid, and swerved away.

"Hey!" Hiccup shouted. "You big, ugly, lizard!" The dragon glanced up, roared with anger, and switched directions. Hiccup smiled and sent Toothless into a nose dive, and then guided him into a series of loops and drops that got him behind the dragon once more. Toothless began to build up his energy, a loud, whistling sound ringing out. On the ground, Merida looked up, seeing the purple-blue glow, the solhouettes of the enemy dragon, Toothless, and Hiccup. Then the energy hit its target, sending the dragon spiralling out of the air, falling to its death to the the soldiers below.  
Merida grinned. Angus reared, and then they galloped ahead of everybody. She strung an arrow to her bow, and aimed it at a dragon that was terrorizing a group of soldiers. She breathed in, slowly, and let the arrow fly, sending straight through the dragon's papery wings.

"Good shot, Merida!" Stoick bellowed, sprinting past her. He let out a battlecry and smashed the hammer into a dragon's leg, a reptilian scream ringing out.

"You too!" She yelled. She let Angus stop, the soldiers parting around her, but still running towards Loch Ness. Another whistling sound rang out, another flash and more silhouettes. She saw Hicucp's shadow, his arm raised with a dagger gripped in his hands. The twins terrorized a dragon, throwing rocks and and Fishlegs stuck together, their weapons a blur. Astrid swooped, over and over, aiding soldiers and fighting dragons and shouting encouragemrn.t  
Merida felt pride overwhelm all other thoughts. They were a country, no, they were_ countres_, to be reckoned with. Scotland would not be given up without a good, bloody battle.

Catapults went back and forth, back and forth. Everybody was freezing. And then, suddenly, the noise stopped. At least, part of it. The few enemy dragons that were still fighting turned around and flew back towards Loch Ness and the forest, as if told at the same time to retreat. Everyone sighed in unison, relief filling their hearts.

"Get to the warmth!" Stoick bellowed. "Make fires! Change your clothes, do whatever you need to get warm!"

Everybody obeyed quickly, not sure when the dragons would return. Unfortunately, there could be some that were invisible and still hanging around, but Fergus waved it off.

"The Viking dragons would let us know somehow," he told Merida. "We'll know, don't worry." He slung an arm around her shoulder, a gash across his forehead. "Go get something hot to eat."

She nodded and turned Angus, dropping him off at the stables and then shakily walking back to the castle. Every muscle in her body was quivering with fear. SHe had just survived through ten minutes of blood, screams, fear, and violence. She had done it.

Everyone regrouped in the dining room. It wasn't long until everyone realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

Merida felt her heart clench in fear.  
...

Hiccup didnt realize he had blacked out until he woke up. The ground beneath him was wet, soggy grass, the damp soaking into his clothes. His helmet was on the ground a few feet away. Toothless was standing right above him, looking worriedly into his master's eyes. As soon as Hiccup's fluttered open, the dragon grinned happily.

But Hiccup was not reassured. Where was he? Trees, everywhere. A muffled way about the sounds around him.

He was in the forest.

The very same forest that was literally teeming with enemy dragons, all bigger than Toothless, all able to become invisible.

And somewhere, hiding in the depths of Loch Ness, the biggest one of all waited.

Hiccup felt naked, unprotected, vulnerable. He must have been hit, causing his weapons to be ripped from his body. Judging by the size of the lump on his head, he had hit it. Hard.

And he had no means of protecting himself.

**Hey! I'm really sorry I didn't update. Writer's block is a real thing, people. Lack of inspiration+homework=a really badly written chapter that has been redone a lot.**

**I'll try to do better next time, I promise. I don't know why I had SO MUCH trouble. This chapter sucks. **

**.. :). Update will be probably within a week. Maybe earlier.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Where the _hell _ is he?" Merida screamed. Pictures flashed through her mind a mile a minute, all bloody, and dark, and of Hiccup. Stoick was pale, his hands trembling. He stumbled into a chair, the poor piece of furniture nearly collapsing under the enormous man's weight. He let his face fall into his hands.

"He-he's out there somewhere," he said, his whisper barely audible.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Gobber said. But even his reassuring cheerfulness seemed especially fake at that moment. "Probably going out for a walk, or something silly, eh Fergus?"

Fergus looked grave. "I'm not sure your optimism is entirely rational at this moment."

Gobber sobered, his eyes falling away from Merida's face.

"He can't be dead," Merida said. She began to pace, back and forth, back and forth. Astrid glanced at Snotlout worriedly. "He was just there, I saw him. He can't be dead... He can't. We are going to be married someday soon, right?" She let out a bark of hysterical laughter. "He's fine."

Elinor hurried over to her, wrapping an arm around he shoulders. "Merida, honey, we're not sure if he's alright. But we'll find out, I promise." She looked at Fergus, her brown eyes so terrified and worried for the Viking boy that it made everyone in the room immediately realize the seriousness of the situtation.

Hiccup had not returned from the battle field.

...

Hiccup stood up quickly, eyes instantly scanning the trees and undergrowth for a dragon. Of course, he knew that if the dragon wanted to be invisible, it would, therefore rendering his eyes useless in the search.

Which meant he'd have to use his ears.

He sat down, trying to steady his breathing and his pulse. The beat of his heart was roaring in his ears.

_Calm down,_ he told himself. _You're not dead. Not yet._

He carefully watched Toothless, knowing that he would be the first to hear anything.

"Okay, Toothless," he said shakily. "We have to get out, okay? Let's get out-" His eyes landed on Toothless' tail flap. Or the lack of.

"Where is it?" He asked frantically. He looked at Toothless, and then back at his tail. "Where's the flap? We can't fly without that!"

Toothless obviously understood. He pointed his nose at an area of the forest, to the right of the pair. It was obvious what happened. An enemy dragon had hit them, causing Hiccup to fall unconcious and let go of his weapons, and jarring the tailflap loose. From then on it had gone down would have been screeching and flapping his wings, but the action would do little. They had, Hiccup decided, a crash landing, judging by the trees behind him that were snapped in half. The flap had been tossed to their right, as Toothless had just gestured.

"Alright, bud," Hiccup said nervously. "I guess we should go find it." He took a step, testing out his legs and making sure nothing was damaged. An idea formed in his mind, no, a memory. Astrid slipping a dagger into his shoe, a large one. He reached in, and, sure enough, there it was, snug and tight against his leg. He gripped it as if his life depended on it, which was not unlikely, and stepped forward again.

Toothless was very empathetic, as most dragons are. He sensed his master's nervousness and fear, and stepped infront of him, leading the way and shielding Hiccup.

"Thanks," Hiccup said, smiling a little. Boy and Reptile crept through the forest, both looking intently at the ground. Toothless seemed to know where the tail flap was, or at least, the general area, and led the way. Night was starting to fall, the crickets and frogs that signalled twilight's beginning singing together and forming a harmonious roar. The sun went lower and lower, the sky growing pink.

Finally, just as the last of the sunlight was disappearing, Toothless lunged forward, screeching in happiness. He pounced on the tail flap, grinning.

"Good job, boy!" Hiccup laughed. He picked it up, inspecting it for damage. It was fine. The buckle had come undone when they were hit.

"Lay your tail down, Toothless," Hiccup commanded. And then he paused.

Something was very wrong.

The roar of the crickets and frogs was gone. Silence, complete and utter silence. Toothless let out a low growl, wrapping his wings around Hiccup.

Hiccup realized what this meant. A dragon, large and invisible and firebreathing, was stalking them. Their only escape would be by flight. That meant he had to make that possible.

"Toothless, let me out!" He hissed. He pushed the wings aside and dived for the tail, wrapping the strap around. Too late. Toothless leaped to the side, dodging a cloud of flame and still growling. Hiccup's eyes widened, the situation slowly growing worse and worse. He again dived for Toothless' tail, and again Toothless leaped to the side. Hiccup began to panicm wondering if they would ever escape. Once more, he jumped on Toothless' tail, this time straddling it and looping the strap through the buckle. He yaned it tight and slipped it into the hole, and then hurried to Toothless' saddle. A leather line was hanging loose. All he had to do was connect it to the tail flap, and he'd be finished. He grapped the line, and then froze. A familiar headache was waving over him, enveloping his senses.  
_'Today is the day you lose an arm.'_  
A

nd then a stream of fire errupted from an invisible mouth, too fast for even Toothless to block. The flame clothed Hiccup's right arm, the arm he was using to connect the flap to the saddle. He cried out, but if anything, the pain drove him on. He made one last twist, yanking the line into place, and then jumped into the saddle. Toothless began to beat his wings, giving Hiccup just enough time to pull out the dagger, aim, and throw at where he knew the dragon would be.

"No," he yelled. "Today is the day _you_ lose an _eye_!"

And with that he rose with Toothless into the night sky, the cool night air embracing the pair and healing Hiccup's arm, or at least numbing the pain. He thought the temperature would help him, but the jostling of flying against the air currents to get back to the castle proved too much for the drastic injury, and Hiccup had to land Toothless.

"I'm sorry," He gasped, rolling off and stumbling to a nearby stream. He ripped off his sleeve, revealing pink, bubbling flesh, a burn that encased his entire arm and hand, as well as part of his shoulder. A burn deeper than even Merida's.

Toothless rushed over, staring fearfully at the wound. His enormous green-blue eyes flitted from the injury to Hiccup's eyes, back and forth.

Hiccup plunged his arm into the water, gasping at the pain, and then sighing at the relief it brought.

Toothless nudged his head gently, reminding him that they had to get back before precious energy was wasted for a search pary.

"I know," Hiccup said drowsily, "I.. I know, it's okay..." His voice drifted off as sleep overtook him.  
Toothless let him. He knew that the boy was exhausted, and injured. The others would just have to wait.

...

Merida sat and watched as Fergus and Elinor and Stoick discussed the idea of a search party. The debate? Energy would be wasted looking for the boy, and time. There would be a risk of other's being hurt or killed on the way. The argument was that Hicucp was the most valuable of all, and losing him would be a drastic loss.

Finally, They all looked at Merida, and then walked over to her. She sat up, eagerly awaiting the evrdict.

"We..." Elinor looked sad. "We can't, Merida. We can't risk it, it's too dangerous."

Merida felt a dangerous anger begin to rise. "What do you mean?" She asked in a controlled voice. "Hiccup is OUT there somewhere. He could be dead, he could be bleeding, he could be _hurt_, and you're worried about wasting energy and time? Who do you think you are?"

"I am the Queen of Scotland," Elinor snapped. "You know that Hiccup has Toothless with him, you know that he is the most likely out of all of us to survive something like this. And you know that if we sent out a party, people would die. Now tell me, are you willing to risk that?"

Merida stared at her, ashamed at what she was about to say. "Yes."

Before Elinor could say anything, Fergus surprised both of them. "Too bad."

He walked away, leaving Merida horrified and shocked and surprised. Elinor made as if to touch Merida's shoulders, but thought better of it and walked after him. Stoick stared at her sadly.

"I voted that we don't send out a party," he whispered, voice hoarse with emotion. "Your mother voted yes."

He turned and slowly walked away, his head so low that he looked like a horse that had gone lame. Merida sat in her armchair, holding back tears.

...

At the very first light, the scouts arrived back from their shift. Fishlegs and Tuffnut both stumbled in, shouting that the dragons had recuperated for the night, and were coming.

"Let's do this," Fergus said grimly. He grabbed his sword and headed out into the courtyard, prepared to give his soldiers a speech. Merida, mind only full of revenge, grabbed her bow and stalked out to the stables, where Angus waited anxiously for her. Everyone else got ready, all prepared for the harrowing day that would probably decide the winner of the battle, of this short war that could change Scotland's future.  
...

The gold of the sunrise shocking him out of his sleep.

"Wha-" He saw the sun, he saw his arm, still in the water, and he saw Toothless. "You... You let me _sleep?_" He jumped to his feet, the burn instantly beginning to tingle as it was pulled from the cool water.

Toothless bowed his head apologetically. Hiccup just gave him a pat as he passed by his head, leaped onto the saddle, and desperately tried to shake off his dreams and the mind-scrambling pain of his burn. He was ready to fight.

The rose into the sky, flying into the clouds, encased in complete silence.

...

The battle was not going well. Fergus waded into battle, stepping around soldiers, both alive and dead, swinging his sword this way and that, slashing at dragons as they swooped over. Twice, he was picked up, and twice he cut off the beast's talons, freeing himself. Above, the Vikings flew this way and that, diving at the enemy dragons and sending them to the ground.

But it still wasn't going well.

So many on Scotland's side had died. Fergus had heard word that one of the Viking had been seriously hurt, but he wasn't sure who. More and more dragons emerged from the forest.  
Finally, there was a lull in the battle. He met up with Merida, who was bleeding from a gash on her arm. Stoick stood with them also, his huge hammer coated in blood. They watched the fighting, all silent.

"We need a miracle," Fergus finally said. "To even think about winning."

And then it came.

A high whistling sound echoed over the battle field. Everyone's head snapped up, and sure enough, there it was. A blue green light in the clouds, the silhouette of a boy crouched over a dragon, going faster than anyone had ever seen anything go. A ball of light shot out of the clouds and smacked into an enemy dragon, engulfing it in flames. Toothless followed, Hiccup crouched over his neck with murder in his eyes.

Everything went well from there. The Scots pressed forward, slashing at the dragons and making there way to Loch Ness. Hiccup was just a blur, a black blur, just his presence changing the attitude of the battle. The Vikings were an unbeatable force, swooping and diving and stabbing and shouting and slicing.

And then, just when they thought they could win, just when the enemy dragons were dwindling by the second, _it_ came.

The biggest dragon of them all, the biggest ever. The Red Death was only slightly smaller, but it was this dragon's colour that made it seem larger. Pure black.

Hiccup rounded up his friends, and all of them hovered in the air, watching the thing approach. It's wings looked like they would give out any second, which they did. It collapsed to the droung, but it was till deadly. One step took out five men, who were unfortunate enough to not have the speed to get out of the way.

"Okay guys," he said breathlessly. "We've done this before. And-" He paused. ''Where's Snotlout."  
One look at Astrid's teary face told it all.

"For Snotlout," He whispered. And then, louder, "For Snotlout!" He led the procession into the clouds, where they seperated and dive-bombed the enormous reptile. It opened its mouth, revealing teeth the size of doors.

To the onlookers below, they couldn't see much. But all they could think was the the teenagers above were perhaps the bravest they had ever known.

And then there was Merida, flashing into sight, weaving her way around the beast's legs, shooting arrow after arrow. It was doing little, but it was something. She switched tactics after a minute, and started aiming for its eyes. One hit home, lodiging its way through the ornea and severing the iris. A roar so loud that it shattered windows escaped the dragon's mouth. With this new advantage, the Vikings were doing even better. The twins, though, really changed the course of the battle. Both armed with swords, they flew right through the side of its mouth, slashing its tongue with swords on the way. As they flew out, Toothless took their place. One energy shot into its mouth sent the dragon into a pain so deep and serious that it nearly droped it dead at that moment. It rocked onto its heels, exposing its chest. Astrid took the chance, flying straight at the exposed flesh and driving her sword straight in. It made its way past the scales and pierced the dragon's heart.

The battle was lost, and the battle was won. With their leader gone, the other dragons promptly turned around and left, leaderless and ashamed. They disappeared then, forever, perhaps going back to sleep in their hidden caves and caverns, or perhaps they fled to a new world or island or country to begin a new reign of terror.

Fergus smiled, and then, for the first time in a while, pulled his wife into a dazzling, beautiful kiss.

**Alright. Two more chapters to go! Wrote this just now, took about an hour. Phew! Deadlines, deadlines :D I kind of abandoned that update day.**

**Hope you liked it! Doing one more real chapter, and then perhaps an epilogue...?**


	21. Chapter 21

Hiccup guided Toothless to the ground, slipped out of the saddle, and stumbled to the ground, where his legs gave out and he fell to the grass. He stroked the soft green blades, almost not believing that he had the chance to touch them again. When he had ridden Toothless towards that monster dragon, he had silently said goodbye to everything he knew and loved and hated.

Now he wouldn't have to do that.

He heard someone approaching him, and turned his head to see Ruffnut standing there, her long blonde locks spilling out of the braid she had hurriedly tied before the battle.

"So, Snotlout," Hiccup sighed. "How did it happen?"

"Dragon hit him in mid-air. His dragon's okay, but he fell a long ways." She stared up at the sky. "He should make it, though."

"What?" Hiccup's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "He's... He's not dead?"

She laughed. "Of course not! If he was, I would've killed that dragon myself. With my bare hands."

She walked away, still chuckling.

Hiccup felt as if a huge load had been lifted off his shoulders. Snotlout wasn't dead. All was right, or as right as it could be. The kingdom was badly damaged, especially the castle. It had taken the brunt of the battle, and parts of it were literally falling off. Hiccup sighed and sat up, not caring about the icy rain that was slowly soaking him, or the mud that was seeping through his pants.

"Hiccup?"

He turned around, and there she was. She was a mess, with mud and blood streaked across her face, her bow slung carelessly over her shoulder. A large gash on her forearm oozed blood, staining her clothes. The only thing unchanged was her hair, which was bright and crazy and just plain beautiful.

"Merida," Hiccup smiled. He stood up stiffly, the movement jerking his arm and drawing a gasp of pain from his lips. He ignored it, though, and focused on her eyes. They looked tired, but there they were. The sparks of life and energy were dancing around in there, slightly dimmed but still there.

"I thought you were dead," She said shakily, sitting down on the muddy ground and letting her face fall into her hands. "All I could think of was the irony in it all. We're finally allowed to be together, and you die."

"Well, I didn't," Hiccup reassured her. He walked over to her and held out his hand. "See? Pinch. I'm as real as, well, a real person."

She laughed a little and pinched his hand gently, but didn't say anything. Tears began to stream down her face, mixing with the raindrops. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "It's been a very stressful few days, hasn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, her lilting accent easing him into calm. "But it's over now." He kneeled down, so that he was almost level with her. "And we can finally live our lives." He closed the space between them, kissing her softly on the lips. "Together."

"Together," she whispered back. And the tears stopped.

* * *

_8 months later..._

The kingdom was slowly but surely recovering from the battle. New houses sprung up across the countryside, and the castle was back to its normal state, with the new addition of stained glass windows in the church.

Fishlegs and Ruffnut were still going strong, as were Astrid and Snotlout. Snotlout had survived the accident, of course, but still felt the pain of it. Yet he was happier than ever, with Astrid by his side. Phillip was back in England. The girl he had intended to marry had run away with the stable boy, he wrote to Merida, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from being happy. He was currently a single man on the prowl.

Tuffnut had found a girl for himself, back in Berk. He, and all the other Vikings had moved back there after the battle, including Stoick and Gobber, and not including Hiccup. He stayed with Merida, although the castle was frequently visited by the Vikings.

Scotland and Berk were no longer enemies, and almost on good terms. The upcoming marriage of Merida and Hiccup was a long anticipated event, one that would change the future of both countries.

And the wedding day, of course, would be beautiful. It was a Scottish ceremony, with a few twists that Merida and Hiccup insisted on. There would be bagpipers, of course, that would escort Merida through the kingdom in a parade style. They would be married in the castle church, the exchanging of rings a major part, as usual. Merida and Hiccup would them move into their wing of the castle, which had been added on during the renovations. It was a Scottish tradition for the bride to be carried over the threshold of their new home...

And straight into the wedding bed.

This tradition was definitely going to happen.

Merida insisted on wearing white. Hiccup wanted to wear his "breast helmet" that his father had given him, as well as his Viking bearskin cloak. He also insisted that there would be an enormous feast, which was a tradition they had in Berk.

Toothless would be present at the wedding.

One day, as Hiccup was sat at his desk and sketching, he realized how his life had changed. He was 19, now, a perfect age for a Viking to marry in those days. Late marriages were not an often occurence. Merida, too, was getting old for a princess to be married, believe it or not. Most princesses, or women in royalty, were married off at the age of 16. She was lucky.

Hiccup remebered when he had first laid eyes on Merida. She had been riding on Angus, and with one glance at him, had instantly hated his guts. Now she was marrying him.

Change your fate, she had once said.

He realized that they had changed each other's.

_The day of the wedding..._

Hiccup waited at the front of the enormous church, the new stained glass windows casting spots of colour everywhere. The guests all waited excitedly, Vikings and Scots alike. They heard the pipes in the distance, and everyone stood, murmuring amongst themselves. And then the pipes stopped, the doors were thrown open, and there she was.

She was in white, as she had insisted on. Her hair was not to be tamed, nor would she let it be, and as a result it was down and flowing freely about her face.

"Oh..." Hiccup mumbled. He could not believe that he was going to marry the beautiful woman walking down the aisle, smiling at him and holding her father's hand.

The vows and speeches flew by, and then they exchanged the rings, and then it was over, with the words, "And you may seal this marriage with a kiss."

Hiccup did it enthusiastically, just glad that the ceremony was over. He pulled her to him, dipped her down and planted his lip right on hers, in front of the cheering crowd and guests. Outside, the bagpipes played, and more cheering could be heard. Hiccup stood Merida up again, grinning at the blush on her face.

"I am so happy," she laughed. "I can't believe this is happening." She hugged him, burying her face into his chest. "I'm so sorry for hating you before."

"You're forgiven." Hiccup whispered, smiling into her hair.

The feast was magnificent and huge and delicious. Hiccup recieved hundreds of claps on the back, so that by the end of the night has was bruised and tired, but happy. The twins drew roars of laughter from Scots and Vikings alike, and a few musicians joined up and began to play a few songs that got everybody dancing.

And then came the time for everyone to retire to bed. Everyone wandered home or to their rooms in a somewhat drunken daze, Tuffnut especially wobbly. Hiccup and Merida joined hands and bid everyone a goodnight. Then he picked her up, princess style, and carried her down the hall, through the door of their wing of the castle, across the threshold to their bedroom, and to the bed. She watched his face as he set her down gently, watched as the blush grew on his cheeks.

They had never done anything like this before. She expected it to be a bit awkward, but it wasn't.

It was just right.

**Well, it's over. I almost can't believe it haha. I'm not sure how good or satisying this final chapter was, but I hope you are all happy with it, especially with that last part (wink wink). **

**Is everyone up for an epilogue? Let me know! Please leave a review, with any questions, tips, or your opinion. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and favouriting and following. **

**I will be writing another Merricup fanfiction soon. Dragons-of-Berk has given me an awesome story idea, so stay tuned. You should read her stories, by the way. **

**Good Merricup stuff! :D**

**Thanks,**

**Rachel :)**


	22. Chapter 22

Scotland and Berk were finally at peace with one another, something that had taken the marriage of Hiccup and Merida to achieve. Vikings and Scots alike worked side-by-side, if need be, without any protest, sometimes with a smile. After all, old habits die hard.

Fergus and Elinor were both just as lively as they had been in the battle 6 years before, both just as kind rulers.

Merida went for a walk one day, Angus lumbering beside her, watching over her and the smaller one at her side. The almost-6-year-old was beautiful, with loose auburn ringlets, bright, inquisitive blue eyes, and a cheeky smile, all traits the best of her parents. She had been a pleasant surprise to Merida and Hiccup, and a scary one. Yet they embraced the birth of their firstborn with joy and courage, and had worked hard to bring her up as best as they could.

It showed. She was pleasant to have around, if not a bit tiring and energetic. Her uncles, Hamish, Harris, and Hubert, had a lot of fun with her, running around and showing her how to fight with swords and taking her for long expeditions thorugh the castle and its passageways. Elinor curled up with her sometimes, teaching her to embroider and recommending good books. Fergus was the official hide-and-go-seek player, and didn't mind at all. Merida made sure she was learning how to ride and shoot, but it was Hiccup that really had the bond with her.

As Merida stopped at the crest of a hill, May spotted her father standing in the castleyard below, and laughed. "Daddy!" She screamed, waving her arms frantically. "Can we go today?" She rushed down, her hair floating behind her as she did so, and flew into his arms. He let out a whoosh of his air from the impact, but hugged her eagerly.

"Hey there, May," He grinned. "You ready?" He made eye contact with Merida, who was still at the top of the hill, and gave her a loving smile before turning his attention back to May.

She nodded and smiled toothily, the smile growing wider as he picked her up and set her on Toothless's back, and clipped her into a special harness he had made for her. Toothless was quiet and still as Hiccup climbed up after her, and got the dragon into the position.

"Nice and gentle, bud," he said. Toothless did as instructed with his signature toothless grin, and then, instructed by Hiccup, flew into a series of loops and spirals. May screamed with laughter, yet again amazing Hiccup with her fearlessness. As they slowed down and glided abover the hill, father and daughter waved to Merida below. She waved back with one hand, the other resting protectively on her swollen round tummy, a sure sign of another life to be brought into the world, and more happiness for the Brave Huntress and the Not-So-Clumsy Dragon Tamer.

**Well everyone, it's finished. I really hope this epilogue satisfied everyone. I know it was short, but I didn't want to add a lot of stuff and try to cram too much information in. The point is, everyone's happy, Hiccup and Merida have a beautiful family, and the Vikings and the Scots are finally getting along.**

**I appreciate all of you for reading and reviewing and all that, it really has encouraged me to continue.**

**Love, Rachel.**


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